I didn’t learn that 9 = 23 in math class, but that’s exactly what most college admissions offices think of your SAT and ACT writing scores.

Every month, thousands of kids pay extra money and spend an extra hour of their Saturday to write a dull synthesis or rhetorical analysis. The stack of essays is then sent to a dull congregation of graders, just as dreary as the test-takers, and possibly with less motivation to carefully grade your essay than you have reason to write it well. And all of this for what?

An increasing number of colleges are saying “nothing”. Since the SAT was revised from the 2400 scale with mandatory essay to the 1600 scale with optional essay, the chunk of writing has faded from relevance. Even in the days when the essay accounted for 1/3 of your score, smart test takers figured out strategies to snag an impressive score with a pre-memorized phrase from Hamlet and five vocabulary words from thesaurus.com.

For the unprepared, however, the essay is little more than a roll of the dice. With the exception of a few undeniably strong writers, scores seem extremely subjective, with little concrete backing. My friends have received anywhere from an 11/24 to a perfect score in the SAT writing, but all scored within 50 points of each other on the objective portion of the test. As one of the better writers in the group, I’ve read essays from each one of them. Are they that drastically different? Not even remotely.

The ACT hasn’t fared much better, if at all. While the ACT’s reputation is untainted by the influence of the CollegeBoard, its writing section doesn’t exactly shine in comparison. Although most students prefer synthesis to rhetorical analysis, the grading process is plagued by the same shortcomings. The common “sum of 2 graders” system gives the false impression of a second chance, but the fact that the scores are added means that a single grader can still dash an ambitious student’s hopes of getting a top score.

To add insult to injury, both tests allow test-takers to pay $50 for a rescore. I see this as little more than gambling in hopes of getting a grader in a better mood. The variability is such that college prep websites have reported their writing tutors scoring a ridiculous 20/36 on the old ACT essay scale, and then receiving a 34 after paying for a rescore.

So what is there to be done about this blatant error in our standardized testing system? Surprisingly, colleges are taking the first step, and it’s a good one. They’re simply quitting cold turkey. Various representatives from MIT, Georgetown, Cornell, and nearly every other top college in the nation say admissions officers either completely ignore the essay score or skim past it without a second glance. The essay is becoming an extremely situational requirement for smaller schools, as the Common App essay and short answer supplementals have all but replaced an unwieldy and subjective number.

It’s hard to say whether the essay section was developed for the benefit of students or to further line the pockets of “nonprofit” executives, but the result is hardly impressive.

There appear to be 3 categories of scores: the epic fail, the undeniable perfect, and the mood ring. And of the three, the vast majority of writers end up with their fate decided by whether the grader spilled his coffee that morning. I’ll admit, it’s hard to find distinction among a stack of essays that are truly mediocre in every aspect, but the variability of the scores is beyond reason.

When 97% of the essays are given a random score between what’s literally 16 and 86 percent on a standardized test, it’s time either change the test beyond recognition, or abolish it altogether.