A stopped clock is right twice a day... and they're on to something. I think it's a terrible idea to have the writing section on the SAT to begin with. It is (or was) an apptitude test, not an achievement test. It was supposed to measure student potential or intelligence, then grades are supposed to measure actual performance. (Both methods are flawed, but at least they got at both measurements.) Now, they're turning the SAT into an achievement test (like grades) and dumbing it down in the process.

I think Instapundit hit on the essay thing. He likes the essay, but has problems with how it's graded. Link

The fundamental problem they were trying to correct with the writing test is that there are too many kids entering college with good scores on the multiple choice questions but no ability to string a sentence together. Answering multiple choice questions about grammar doesn't necessarily translate to using good grammar.

But the problem is that grading written essays well is hard. Telling horrible from acceptable isn't too hard, but the difference between good and excellent tends to be a matter of opinion. (Is Hemingway a great writer, or a shallow womanizing fisherman that can't construct a complex sentence?)

If I were in charge, I'd set the grading policy such that everyone who can write well enough for college reports would max out on the essays. E.g., 200 possible points, but the maximum score is 100. It saves the graders time on the better essays, because they can just stop when they find 100 points. The lower scores are still meaningful to distinguish shades of poor, bad, and horrible, so the colleges can get an idea of how much remedial teaching they'll let themselves into if they admit this person. But for the good students, it's not a competition for points, because they'll all max it out.