Is the SAT easier this year? how does it compare to the ACT?

[Anonymous]

I keep reading stories about how the SAT has recently been "dumbed down" in an effort to make it shorter, easier and more attractive to students in a test optional environment (see link below). Has this tracked with people's experience this year? Have SAT scores come back for your kids better than what you were expecting? And if your kid has taken both the ACT and the SAT how do the scores compare?

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/test-guide/dumbing-down-the-sat-wont-serve-students-well/articleshow/123676211.cms

[Anonymous]

Interesting article on this linked below. It certainly seems to me that the SAT is a *much* easier test now than it was 30-40 years ago.

In 1990, a 1550 score would be very, very unusual. A perfect 1600 was virtually unheard of, usually only 10 or so a year in the entire United States.

Now days every kid seems to be scoring 1500+, 1550s are a dime a dozen, and 1600s are also quite common. I'm pretty certain the kids aren't smarter today, so what's going on here?

https://jamesgmartin.center/2025/06/the-sats-trust-fall/

[Anonymous]

The curve has stayed stable over the recent year. It's not getting harder or easier. There is about 1% scored 1500 or higher every year.

[Anonymous]

To ensure consistency, they adjust the conversion factor between raw and final scores. So even if they are "dumbing down" the test (or making it harder), the distribution of scores won't change.

"The College Board uses a process called equating to adjust for slight differences in
difficulty among versions of the SAT, such as exams taken on different days."

details here:
https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/sat-scoring-equating.pdf

[Anonymous]

However, there were substantial changes to the SAT in 2005 and 2016, so it's harder to compare scores from today to scores before those changes.

[Anonymous]

In 1990? Did we have internet at that time? No iphone? Now we have all the social media so it appears every one is getting 1550+. Reddit discusses it to death. But it's only 1% test takers to get even a 1500.

The number of test takers also doubled from 1990 to now.

Test score has been recentered in the 90s that's why 1600 was impossible back then.

[Anonymous]

SAT: is test one month more difficult than another?

[Anonymous]

If perfect scores are psychologically important to you or your child, it’s easier to get a 36 on the ACT than a 1600 on the SAT.

Also the ACT effectively puts more weight on verbal than math, so if your kid struggles with math their ACT composite will probably be more respectable.

[Anonymous]

^ can you superscore ACT verbal and SAT math?

[Anonymous]

Op, read up on the digital SAT and report back.

[Anonymous]

There’s a difference bw kids saying they got a 1550 in one test or by superscoring. When you add in superscores, the 1500+ results go way, way up.

[Anonymous]

ACT is an hour shorter, 4 choices instead of 5 beginning this month.

All are getting dumber and less attention spans…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ can you superscore ACT verbal and SAT math?

No, but you can report both on your application.

[Anonymous]

OP, go to the wikipedia page for the history of the SAT and read the entire history. It's been recentered around 4 times, not including whatever is going on with the new digital test.

The digital SAT, which debuted in 2024, has adaptive scoring, and different weights for different questions, a major departure even from the 2016 test. Whether the difficulty is "easier" overall belies the fact that it is still not easy to get a high score. Easier than 1990, yes, but not easier than 2016 or some other time in the 2000s.

As of 2016, ETS no longer writes the test - College Board does. I don't know whether this changed again with the digital test, but there is a question shortage, and kids have seen repeat questions on different administrations of the digital test. One would think this would make it easier, but the practice material at the level of the actual test is lacking. There are only a few of the official practice tests that approach the difficulty of recent administrations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SAT: is test one month more difficult than another?

No month in particular. It's random luck. Plus, understand that different kids get different questions. While there is a question shortage, there is no way to verify whether any two people took the same test.

Plus, it is adaptive. If you flake out on the first section for verbal or math, you get the easier second section, which caps your score somewhere in the 600s.