Strong response
Band 5.04.0/5 rubricWhat worked
- Clear thesis statement
- Use of relevant example
- Engagement with classmate's perspective
What cost points
- Lack of detailed examples
- Minor grammatical error
Academic Discussion prompt
Every scored sample answer Reach120 publishes for this prompt, banded so you can see the range rather than one version of "good".
Some argue that history provides crucial context for today's issues, while others believe focusing on current data is more practical.
Reach120 practice band estimate — not an official ETS score How we estimate
Across 41 scored practice attempts at the Reach120 practice prompt "Is studying history essential for understanding current events and making better decisions? Share your perspective.", the mean Reach120 practice band estimate is 3.5 of 6 (measured 2026-08-25; Reach120 practice band estimate — not an official ETS score).
Mean band estimate
3.5of 6
over 41 scored practice attempts
Reach120 practice band estimate — not an official ETS score How we estimate
Source: Reach120 practice corpus, every scored attempt at this prompt, internal and harness-created accounts excluded through the same rule as public_measured_stats(). Attempts scored before 2026-03-23 are excluded: Reach120 changed how it scores on that date, and pooling across the change would describe the change rather than the writing. Recomputed when this page is rebuilt; the date above is when this reading was taken.
Published only at or above 30 scored attempts from at least 10 learners; below that Reach120 shows nothing here.
Write your own answer to this prompt and have it scored.
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