I posted this comment yesterday in response to the flame war over the excerpt from Debbie Stier's The Perfect Score Project on the Atlantic Monthly website, and by chance happened to discover earlier today that it had been removed. Upon further investigation, Catherine Johnson discovered that the Atlantic forum moderators were systematically deleting the "insider" comments that presented the real backstory to Debbie's book and contradicted the viewpoint presented in the article ("I Took the SAT Seven Times to Help My Son Get Into College").

Not cool, people. Not cool.

So if anyone happened to come across the Atlantic excerpt and would like a somewhat less sensationalistic account of what prompted Debbie to take the SAT every time it was offered in 2011, here's what I wrote:

This is Erica Meltzer. I'm a "character" in the book (I tutored Debbie for the Reading and Writing sections), and given the predictable vitriol in many of these comments I'd like to offer some thoughts and clarification.

Debbie took the SAT seven times because she had a book contract with a major publisher to write a book about the SAT, and she took the test repeatedly to test out the effects of different variables (type of prep, school location) on her scores. The original plan was to do some studying with Ethan, try to get him motivated, and then take the test *once* just to see how she'd do. The seven times only came into play when she came up with turning the process into a formal project, which she would then blog and writea book about (she'd had a long career as a book publicist and wanted to try out some of the advice she'd given to other authors). In other words, this wasn't simply some crazy, obsessive mom who took the test over and over again for kicks; there was always a larger professional goal, namely navigating and providing guidance about process that for many students/families is confusing, overwhelming, and filled with misguided and ineffectual advice.

Yes, Debbie got to spend a lot of time with Ethan and ended up strengtheningher relationship with him a lot in the process (for the record, he's a great, down-to-earth kid, very independent and well adjusted, very proud of his mom, and doing wonderfully in college, which he loves), but it was never just about that. As a result of the experience, Ethan actually emerged much better prepared to handle school -- and life -- on his own. He's now getting the best grades of his life, WITHOUT any help from his mother!

Debbie's goal was never to do things *for* him, but rather to show him what it meant to set a goal, put in the work, and reap the results -- things that I suspect most of the people commenting here would approve of in another contexts. The fact that Debbie happened to teach him those lessons using a test that so many people happen to loathe inevitably invites a certain degree of backlash. That's a shame because she does have so many useful things to say about what is, like it or not, a very important test. I don't happen to agreewith every single one of them, but regardless, she's done a crucial service for families who are as confused about SAT prep as she was back in the summer of 2010.