The College Board’s decision to make the essay portion of its influential SAT exam optional is setting off a national debate among colleges and universities about whether to require applicants to take ...

When the College Board announced nine years ago that it was requiring test-takers to write a 25-minute essay on the SAT, the decision was hailed by some and denounced by others. As part of its latest ...

For generations, high school seniors have fretted over writing their essays for college applications, worrying how to make their personal stories stand out in the crowd and avoid hurting their ...

Imagine taking a college exam and, instead of handing in a blue book and getting a grade from a professor a few weeks later, clicking the “send” button when you are done and receiving a grade back ...

The SAT essay exam is increasingly rejected by college admissions officers, but the University of California continues to use it. Here, a sign asks for quiet during a college test preparation class in ...

The number of elementary school students who received a zero on their state standardized essay test questions this spring increased by about 20% from last year. Among all third- to eighth-graders, ...

Regarding James S. Murphy’s “Don’t Overhaul the SAT Essay, Dump It” (op-ed, Oct. 15): The single skill vital to success in nearly every college major is the ability to compose a clearly argued essay, ...

Some college students are pros at taking short-answer and multiple-choice tests but are at their wits' end when the prof springs an essay test. Some go to incredible lengths to avoid any course that ...