Students are not penalized for incorrect facts

[Cyrus]

Can this be true?

<< Perelman contacted the College Board and was surprised to learn that 
on the new SAT essay, students are not penalized for incorrect facts. 
The official guide for scorers explains: "Writers may make errors in 
facts or information that do not affect the quality of their essays. For 
example, a writer may state "The American Revolution began in 1842" or " 
'Anna Karenina,' a play by the French author Joseph Conrad, was a very 
upbeat literary work." (Actually, that's 1775; a novel by the Russian 
Leo Tolstoy, and poor Anna hurls herself under a train.) No matter. "You 
are scoring the writing, and not the correctness of facts." >>

In detail:

http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/bugger_i_had_dang_near_perfect_sat_scores_too/

Cyrus