Miami University

Miami adds ACT writing requirement

The ACT is adding a writing assessment as a voluntary component of its student testing program beginning with the February 2005 test.

Students applying to Miami for admission in fall 2006 and taking the ACT will be required to complete the writing assessment. The new requirement will preserve parity between the ACT and the SAT, which is making its writing assessment mandatory beginning in March 2005, said Mike Mills, director of admission.

Miami plans to notify prospective students and school counselors of the new requirement later this fall.
Mills said that the SAT and ACT writing assessments should provide an additional appraisal of writing ability. Such assessments, unlike application essays, are not subject to grammar checkers in word-processing programs, coaching or parental involvement, he explained.

However, Miami will continue to require a personal essay as part of its application process.

Approximately 15,000 students applied to Miami this year, with an estimated 50 percent of those taking the ACT. About 30 percent of the entering class scored in the top 10 percent nationwide on standardized tests.

Date Published: 06/24/2004
Volume: 23   Number: 38