Are SAT scores just higher now than the mid/late 90s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took the SAT in 1987. It was harder then.

For example:

1. Each question had five choices - now it's four. Easier now to narrow down to two answers & guess.

2. No longer deducts points for incorrect answers.

3. You can superscore & use score choice.

Same!

The SAT was "normalized" in 1995. So you can add ~70-80 points to your verbal and maybe 10-30 to your math from back then (1987) to get an equivalent today. So if you got a 1400 then, it's closer to a 1500 now.

Also, we took the test once, we didn't prep (beyond sharpening enough #2 pencils to take with us on Saturday morning). The PSAT was our test prep. And the deducting points for incorrect answers kept people from having 1600 scores---we had to decide "how much do I think I know the correct answer or should I leave it blank". Much easier to be able to guess on ones we aren't certain.

I took the test once without prep (got a 1240 in 1997 and got in everywhere I applied) but definitely people did prep and definitely people did retake them.

I'm sure some people prepped and did retake. But majority did not, now it's the norm.

I grew up in an upper middle class part of Baltimore and classes and retakes were very very common.

In the 80s?

I grew up in middle class suburb of Richmond and most did not prep and most only took it once. I took SAT once and ACT once as I wanted schools where ACT was required/more common. The PSAT was our prep for the SAT and the ACT I just winged it.
But I'd be shocked if "classes" were common in the 80s/early 90s unless you were rich/wealthy

[Anonymous]

So it's established that:

1) more people prep
2) guessing penalty was eliminated
3) scores were adjusted/re-normed in 90s so that they are higher.

These adequately explain why scores are overall much higher. (Test Optional explains why certain colleges' median scores are much higher but that is not the question here.) But is it actually true that the questions are easier as a few PPs have suggested?

I have mixed feelings about this topic. I went to a prep school in the 80s where it was absolutely the norm to prep. I vaguely remember the the money-back guarantee that prepping would raise SAT scores by 200 points. As a scholarship student, I did not prep. If prepping exists at all--and, yes, it is unfair that it does--better that more be included than a select few.

I don't know why the College Board decided to re-norm but I also don't see the change as a huge problem.

I am genuinely curious whether the questions are actually easier as suggested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it's established that:

1) more people prep
2) guessing penalty was eliminated
3) scores were adjusted/re-normed in 90s so that they are higher.

These adequately explain why scores are overall much higher. (Test Optional explains why certain colleges' median scores are much higher but that is not the question here.) But is it actually true that the questions are easier as a few PPs have suggested?

I have mixed feelings about this topic. I went to a prep school in the 80s where it was absolutely the norm to prep. I vaguely remember the the money-back guarantee that prepping would raise SAT scores by 200 points. As a scholarship student, I did not prep. If prepping exists at all--and, yes, it is unfair that it does--better that more be included than a select few.

I don't know why the College Board decided to re-norm but I also don't see the change as a huge problem.

I am genuinely curious whether the questions are actually easier as suggested.

The SAT is easier because the fundamental nature of the test changed during the redesign in 1994. In 1990, the College Board created a commission to update and change the test to stay relevant and address growing criticism basically. Link to the original report: https://www.erikthered.com/tutor/beyond-prediction.pdf

The SAT was redesigned to measure "achievement and developed ability" instead of aptitude, which aligned the SAT with IQ tests. The College Board renamed the test from the "Scholastic Aptitude Test" to the "Scholastic Assessment Test." The then-president admitted to renaming the test "to correct the impression among some people that the SAT measures something that is innate and impervious to change regardless of effort or instruction." Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/03/27/sat-changes-name-but-it-wont-score-1600-with-critics/c8bf8809-2c0f-4582-9911-9e5f74ed4c6d/

The current SAT measures preparedness for college. The significant number of students scoring >1400 since the 1990s indicates that more students are prepared for college; however, the test can no longer determine if someone has the aptitude (intelligence) to do well in college. I would argue that excluding students with learning disabilities and testing anxiety, most students who don't score well on the test (1300+) have learning gaps due to a number of reasons, such as underresourced schools, weak math curriculum, never learned grammar/writing conventions, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took the SAT in 1987. It was harder then.

For example:

1. Each question had five choices - now it's four. Easier now to narrow down to two answers & guess.

2. No longer deducts points for incorrect answers.

3. You can superscore & use score choice.

Same!

The SAT was "normalized" in 1995. So you can add ~70-80 points to your verbal and maybe 10-30 to your math from back then (1987) to get an equivalent today. So if you got a 1400 then, it's closer to a 1500 now.

Also, we took the test once, we didn't prep (beyond sharpening enough #2 pencils to take with us on Saturday morning). The PSAT was our test prep. And the deducting points for incorrect answers kept people from having 1600 scores---we had to decide "how much do I think I know the correct answer or should I leave it blank". Much easier to be able to guess on ones we aren't certain.

I took the test once without prep (got a 1240 in 1997 and got in everywhere I applied) but definitely people did prep and definitely people did retake them.

I'm sure some people prepped and did retake. But majority did not, now it's the norm.

I grew up in an upper middle class part of Baltimore and classes and retakes were very very common.

In the 80s?

I grew up in middle class suburb of Richmond and most did not prep and most only took it once. I took SAT once and ACT once as I wanted schools where ACT was required/more common. The PSAT was our prep for the SAT and the ACT I just winged it.
But I'd be shocked if "classes" were common in the 80s/early 90s unless you were rich/wealthy

Late 1990s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took the SAT in 1987. It was harder then.

For example:

1. Each question had five choices - now it's four. Easier now to narrow down to two answers & guess.

2. No longer deducts points for incorrect answers.

3. You can superscore & use score choice.

Same!

The SAT was "normalized" in 1995. So you can add ~70-80 points to your verbal and maybe 10-30 to your math from back then (1987) to get an equivalent today. So if you got a 1400 then, it's closer to a 1500 now.

Also, we took the test once, we didn't prep (beyond sharpening enough #2 pencils to take with us on Saturday morning). The PSAT was our test prep. And the deducting points for incorrect answers kept people from having 1600 scores---we had to decide "how much do I think I know the correct answer or should I leave it blank". Much easier to be able to guess on ones we aren't certain.

I took the test once without prep (got a 1240 in 1997 and got in everywhere I applied) but definitely people did prep and definitely people did retake them.

I'm sure some people prepped and did retake. But majority did not, now it's the norm.

I grew up in an upper middle class part of Baltimore and classes and retakes were very very common.

In the 80s?

I grew up in middle class suburb of Richmond and most did not prep and most only took it once. I took SAT once and ACT once as I wanted schools where ACT was required/more common. The PSAT was our prep for the SAT and the ACT I just winged it.
But I'd be shocked if "classes" were common in the 80s/early 90s unless you were rich/wealthy

Late 1990s.

But, my sister took a prep class and took it twice and she graduated in 1992.

I think people make assumptions based on their local area. I guess in Richmond people didn’t do it. Now people also don’t do it in many places. The US average score is still 1050 so clearly not everyone is getting 1500s like people post on this board.

[Anonymous]

Average used to me 990 shut

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot more Chinese and Indian-ancestry kids graduating from high school now than there were in the 80s and 90s. They make up half (or more) of the kids scoring 1400+ on the SAT.

Most ethnic groups are doing worse on the SAT these days, but Asian-ancestry kids are still doing really well.

You are not seriously trying to argue that the high number of good scores is because of Asian immigration?????

[Anonymous]

Back before the recentering in the 1990s, wasn't a perfect score so rare that you got in the newspaper?

[Anonymous]

PP here. I distinctly remember there being some article about a kid who got a perfect score from my very large school as it was such a rare occurrence and that was the first 1600 anyone had ever gotten in our high school.

[Anonymous]

I knew a dude back in 1992 who got a 1560 in 8th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took the SAT in 1987. It was harder then.

For example:

1. Each question had five choices - now it's four. Easier now to narrow down to two answers & guess.

2. No longer deducts points for incorrect answers.

3. You can superscore & use score choice.

Same!

The SAT was "normalized" in 1995. So you can add ~70-80 points to your verbal and maybe 10-30 to your math from back then (1987) to get an equivalent today. So if you got a 1400 then, it's closer to a 1500 now.

Also, we took the test once, we didn't prep (beyond sharpening enough #2 pencils to take with us on Saturday morning). The PSAT was our test prep. And the deducting points for incorrect answers kept people from having 1600 scores---we had to decide "how much do I think I know the correct answer or should I leave it blank". Much easier to be able to guess on ones we aren't certain.

I took the test once without prep (got a 1240 in 1997 and got in everywhere I applied) but definitely people did prep and definitely people did retake them.

I'm sure some people prepped and did retake. But majority did not, now it's the norm.

I grew up in an upper middle class part of Baltimore and classes and retakes were very very common.

In the 80s?

I grew up in middle class suburb of Richmond and most did not prep and most only took it once. I took SAT once and ACT once as I wanted schools where ACT was required/more common. The PSAT was our prep for the SAT and the ACT I just winged it.
But I'd be shocked if "classes" were common in the 80s/early 90s unless you were rich/wealthy

Late 1990s.

Makes more sense. those 10 years changed how we function a great deal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took the SAT in 1987. It was harder then.

For example:

1. Each question had five choices - now it's four. Easier now to narrow down to two answers & guess.

2. No longer deducts points for incorrect answers.

3. You can superscore & use score choice.

Same!

The SAT was "normalized" in 1995. So you can add ~70-80 points to your verbal and maybe 10-30 to your math from back then (1987) to get an equivalent today. So if you got a 1400 then, it's closer to a 1500 now.

Also, we took the test once, we didn't prep (beyond sharpening enough #2 pencils to take with us on Saturday morning). The PSAT was our test prep. And the deducting points for incorrect answers kept people from having 1600 scores---we had to decide "how much do I think I know the correct answer or should I leave it blank". Much easier to be able to guess on ones we aren't certain.

I took the test once without prep (got a 1240 in 1997 and got in everywhere I applied) but definitely people did prep and definitely people did retake them.

I'm sure some people prepped and did retake. But majority did not, now it's the norm.

I grew up in an upper middle class part of Baltimore and classes and retakes were very very common.

In the 80s?

I grew up in middle class suburb of Richmond and most did not prep and most only took it once. I took SAT once and ACT once as I wanted schools where ACT was required/more common. The PSAT was our prep for the SAT and the ACT I just winged it.
But I'd be shocked if "classes" were common in the 80s/early 90s unless you were rich/wealthy

Late 1990s.

But, my sister took a prep class and took it twice and she graduated in 1992.

I think people make assumptions based on their local area. I guess in Richmond people didn’t do it. Now people also don’t do it in many places. The US average score is still 1050 so clearly not everyone is getting 1500s like people post on this board.

Might be more the MC vs UMC aspect that guided the not prepping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back before the recentering in the 1990s, wasn't a perfect score so rare that you got in the newspaper?

Yes. It was rare because even with the areas where kids apparently test prepped, the "having to decide if it's worth guessing on a question you don't know" means most people leave at least 1-2 blank. And the test measured different things before the 94/95 revamp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took the SAT in 1987. It was harder then.

For example:

1. Each question had five choices - now it's four. Easier now to narrow down to two answers & guess.

2. No longer deducts points for incorrect answers.

3. You can superscore & use score choice.

Same!

The SAT was "normalized" in 1995. So you can add ~70-80 points to your verbal and maybe 10-30 to your math from back then (1987) to get an equivalent today. So if you got a 1400 then, it's closer to a 1500 now.

Also, we took the test once, we didn't prep (beyond sharpening enough #2 pencils to take with us on Saturday morning). The PSAT was our test prep. And the deducting points for incorrect answers kept people from having 1600 scores---we had to decide "how much do I think I know the correct answer or should I leave it blank". Much easier to be able to guess on ones we aren't certain.

I took the test once without prep (got a 1240 in 1997 and got in everywhere I applied) but definitely people did prep and definitely people did retake them.

I'm sure some people prepped and did retake. But majority did not, now it's the norm.

I grew up in an upper middle class part of Baltimore and classes and retakes were very very common.

In the 80s?

I grew up in middle class suburb of Richmond and most did not prep and most only took it once. I took SAT once and ACT once as I wanted schools where ACT was required/more common. The PSAT was our prep for the SAT and the ACT I just winged it.
But I'd be shocked if "classes" were common in the 80s/early 90s unless you were rich/wealthy

Late 1990s.

But, my sister took a prep class and took it twice and she graduated in 1992.

I think people make assumptions based on their local area. I guess in Richmond people didn’t do it. Now people also don’t do it in many places. The US average score is still 1050 so clearly not everyone is getting 1500s like people post on this board.

Might be more the MC vs UMC aspect that guided the not prepping.

Yes, that is probably true. I think it does matter and that’s part of why I think the test is crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back before the recentering in the 1990s, wasn't a perfect score so rare that you got in the newspaper?

Yes. It was rare because even with the areas where kids apparently test prepped, the "having to decide if it's worth guessing on a question you don't know" means most people leave at least 1-2 blank. And the test measured different things before the 94/95 revamp

Right... I did test prep and I remember the rule being that if you couldn't very confidently narrow it down to two answer choices, it was better to just leave the question blank.