Controversial SAT Essay Scores Released Today

March 31, 2011— -- Brianna Letourneau was surprised when she first opened her SAT earlier this month. Letourneau, a senior at Eastside High in Gainesville, Fla. has taken the college entrance exam three times. This time, however the essay question caught her off guard.

"I was expecting something much different," Letourneau said.

Among the reasons many high school students will long remember their March 12 SAT scores, which are being released today, is because of an essay question that continues to rankle: Do people benefit from reality TV?

It's a topic that has sparked debate among students, educators and College Board officials.

Some test-takers like Letourneau felt the prompt was insensitive to students who are not allowed to watch reality television shows such as MTV's Real World or ABC's The Bachelor.

"If your mom and dad don't allow you to watch reality TV, you're stuck," she said.

So what about those students who don't keep up to date with The Bachelor's love life or Snooki's latest social outing?

College Board officials say they are not testing the student's knowledge of the essay subject, but rather how they compose their writing.

In a statement released by the College Board, Laurence Bunin, senior vice president for operations and the general manager of the SAT Test said, "The central task of the SAT essay is to take one side of an issue and develop an argument to support that position."

Using a popular culture reference is not only appropriate, but potentially even more engaging for students," said Bunin.

Latourneau feels this gives students who watch reality TV an advantage. "Essay questions are usually more generic. How can you make a strong persuasive argument if you don't know anything about reality TV?"

Not all of the test takers, however, felt the question was out of line.

Kelly Savage, a junior at Ponte Vedra High School in Ponte Vedra, Fla. was given the same SAT question, but doesn't see why the question would be considered unfair.