Newslog #19

Reality TV and the SAT: Did students miss the point of the essay question?

 

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/reality-tv-and-the-sat-did-students-miss-the-point-of-the-essay-question-2465881/#pollId-91FA4A044C2E11E0BC08EF7629D73D4E

One of the essays offered for the March SATs was about reality television. The essay prompt read:

“Reality television programs, which feature real people engaged in real activities rather than professional actors performing scripted scenes, are increasingly popular. These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives. Most people believe that the reality these shows portray is authentic, but they are being misled. How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes?

“Do people benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called reality, or are such forms of entertainment harmful?”

Many students, parents, and school officials are upset about this question because they believe that in order to answer the question thoroughly, students would have had to watch reality television shows. On College Board's message boards, some students complained that they never watch reality television and don't have any knowledge on these types of shows. However, Laurence Bunin, senior vice president for operations and the general manager of the SAT Program at the College Board, thinks that a student does not need to have experienced what the question is asking; all they need to do is take a stand from the information given in the prompt. "The central task of the SAT essay is to take one side of an issue and develop an argument to support that position. If presented with a topic about balancing the risk of climbing a mountain with the reward of reaching the summit, for example, a good writer could compose a strong essay without ever having reach the summit of Mount Everest," says Bunin.


I do not agree with Bunin's ideology. I have watched a number of reality television shows, so I know how they are set up and portrayed. If I had not watched these shows, then I would have no knowledge of how real (or fake) the shows are. I feel as if College Board assumed that most teenagers have watched reality television. However, numerous students have no interest nor knowledge about these shows.