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Shakespeare fails SAT writing test.

mock_the_stupid: "The SAT, a necessary rite of passage for every college-bound student, will include a timed writing test beginning in March 2005. Good thing William Shakespeare isn't trying to gain admission to one of our nation's elite, ivy-covered colleges so he could major in English. He would probably be rejected based on his SAT writing score.

'Using the SAT's actual grading criteria for the essay, which include development of ideas, supporting examples, organization, word choice, and sentence structure, the test preparation pros at The Princeton Review 'graded' the famous 'All the world's a stage' passage from Shakespeare's 'As You Like It.' Out of one to six points with six being the highest possible score, the Bard gets a measly two points.

'Shakespeare is in good company. The scathing report, which will be published in the March issue of the Atlantic Monthly, notes that Ernest Hemingway ('A Farewell to Arms,' 'The Sun Also Rise') scored a three, while Gertrude Stein ('The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas') got a one. Net net: The Princeton Review quips that Shakespeare would not test out of freshman English and Stein would have to take a remedial class.

'But not everyone flunked! When a section from the infamous manifesto written by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski was analyzed on the SAT grading scale, it received a perfect six points because it followed the highly formulaic requirements detailed by the writing test's creators. Princeton Review founder John Katzman says this experiment proves the College Board's grading standards for writing reward students for following rules rather than for their creativity.'"

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