SAT

For other uses, see SAT (disambiguation).

Marshall, Tim and Lindsay are wrong, the SAT should remain. The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is administered by the not-for-profit College Board corporation in the United States, and is developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

Map of states according to preferred exam of 2006 high school graduates. States in orange had more students taking the SAT than the ACT.

The current SAT Reasoning Test is administered in about 3 hours and 45 minutes and costs $43 ($68 International), excluding late fees. After SAT's introduction in 1901, its name and scoring has changed several times. In 2005, the test was renamed as "SAT Reasoning Test" with possible scores from 600 to 2400 combining test results from three 800-point sections (math, critical reading, and writing), along with other subsections scored separately (see details below).

Function

The College Board states that the SAT measures critical thinking skills that are needed for academic success in college. It is claimed that the SAT assesses how well the test takers analyze and solve problems—skills they learned in school that they will need in college. The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors. Specifically, the College Board states that use of the SAT in combination with high school grade point average (GPA) provides a better indicator of success in college than high school grades alone, as measured by college freshman GPA. Various studies conducted over the lifetime of the SAT show a statistically significant increase in correlation of high school grades and freshman grades when the SAT is factored in.

There are substantial differences in funding, curricula, grading, and difficulty among U.S. secondary schools due to American federalism, local control, and the prevalence of private, distance, and home schooled students. ACT/SAT scores are intended to supplement the secondary school record and help admission officers put local data—such as course work, grades, and class rank—in a national perspective.

Historically, the SAT has been more popular among colleges in the coasts and the ACT more popular in the Midwest and South. There are some colleges that require the ACT to be taken for college course placement, and a few schools that do not accept the SAT at all.

Structure

SAT consists of three major sections: Mathematics, Critical Reading, and Writing. Each section receives a score on the scale of 200–800. All scores are multiples of 10. Total scores are calculated by adding up scores of the three sections. Each major section is divided into three parts. There are 10 sub-sections, including an additional 25-minute experimental or "equating" section that may be in any of the three major sections. The experimental section is used to normalize questions for future administrations of the SAT and does not count toward the final score. The test contains 3 hours and 45 minutes of actual timed sections, although most administrations, including orientation, distribution of materials, and completion of the biographical sections, run about 5 hours (10–25 minutes per each section) long.

Intentionally blank page in the style used in the SAT.

Critical Reading

The Critical Reading, formerly verbal, section of the SAT is made up of three scored sections, two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, with varying types of questions, including sentence completions and questions about short and long reading passages. Critical Reading sections normally begin with 5 to 8 sentence completion questions; the remainder of the questions are focused on the reading passages. Sentence completions generally test the student's vocabulary and understanding of sentence structure and organization by requiring the student to select one or two words that best complete a given sentence. The bulk of the Critical Reading questions is made up of questions regarding reading passages, in which students read short excerpts on social sciences, humanities, physical sciences, or personal narratives and answer questions based on the passage. Certain sections contain passages asking the student to compare two related passages; generally, these consist of short reading passages as well as longer passages. Since this is a timed test the longer the passage, the more questions asked about it.

Mathematics

The Mathematics sections of the SAT consists of three scored sections. There are two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, as follows:

• One of the 25-minute sections is entirely multiple choice, with 20 questions.
• The other 25-minute section contains eight multiple choice questions and 10 grid-in questions.
• The shorter section is all multiple choice, with only 16 questions.

Notably, the SAT has done away with quantitative comparison questions on the math section, leaving only questions with straightforward symbolic or numerical answers. Since the quantitative comparison questions were well-known for their deceptive nature—often turning on the student's recognition of a single exception to a rule or pattern—this choice has been equated to a philosophical shift away from "trickery" and toward "straight math" on the SAT. Also, many test experts have attributed this change, like the addition of the new writing section, to an attempt to make the SAT more like the ACT. Indeed, there is a correlation between ACT scores and SAT scores.

Writing

The writing section of the SAT, based on but not directly comparable to the old SAT II subject test in writing, includes multiple choice questions and a brief essay. The multiple choice questions include error identification questions, sentence improvement questions, and paragraph improvement questions. Error identification and sentence improvement questions test the student's knowledge of grammar, presenting an awkward or grammatically incorrect sentence; in the error identification section, the student must locate the word producing the source of the error or indicate that the sentence has no error, while the sentence improvement section requires the student to select an acceptable fix to the awkward sentence. The paragraph improvement questions test the student's understanding of logical organization of ideas, presenting a poorly written student essay and asking a series of questions as to what changes might be made to best improve it.

The essay section, which is always administered as the first section of the test, is 25 minutes long. All essays must be in response to a given prompt. The prompts are broad and often philosophical and are designed to be accessible to students regardless of their educational and social backgrounds. For instance, test takers may be asked to expound on such ideas as their opinion on the value of work in human life or whether technological change also carries negative consequences to those who benefit from it. No particular essay structure is required, and the College Board accepts examples "taken from [the student's] reading, studies, experience, or observations." Two trained readers assign each essay a score between 1 and 6, where a score of 0 is reserved for essays that are blank, off-topic, non-English, not written with no. 2 pencil, or considered illegible after several attempts at reading. The scores are summed to produce a final score from 2 to 12 (or 0). If the two readers' scores differ by more than one point, then a senior third reader decides. The essay score accounts for roughly 30% of the writing score; the multiple choice component accounts for roughly 70%.

Questions

Most of the questions on the SAT are multiple choice; all multiple-choice questions have five answer choices, one of which is correct. The questions of each section of the same type are generally ordered by difficulty. However, an important exception exists: Questions that follow the long and short reading passages are organized chronologically, rather than by difficulty. Ten of the questions in one of the math sub-sections are not multiple choice. They instead require the test taker to bubble in a number in a four-column grid.

The questions are weighted equally. For each correct answer, one raw point is added. For each incorrect answer one-fourth of a point is deducted. No points are deducted for incorrect math grid-in questions. This ensures that a student's mathematically expected gain from guessing is zero. The final score is derived from the raw score; the precise conversion chart varies between test administrations.

The SAT therefore recommends only making educated guesses, that is, when the test taker can eliminate at least one answer he or she thinks is wrong. Without eliminating any answers one's probability of answering correctly is 20%. Eliminating one wrong answer increases this probability to 25%; two, a 33.3% probability; three, a 50% probability of choosing the correct answer and thus earning the full point for the question.

Section	Average Score	Time (Minutes)	Content
Writing	497	60	Grammar, usage, and word choice
Mathematics	518	70	Number and operations; algebra and functions; geometry; statistics, probability, and data analysis
Critical Reading	503	70	Critical reading and sentence-level reading

History of the structure of the test

In the early 1990s, the SAT consisted of six sections: Two math sections (scored together on a 200–800 scale), two verbal sections (scored together on a 200–800 scale), the Test of Standard Written English (scored on a 20–60+ scale), and an equating section. In 1994, the exam was modified, removing antonym questions, adding math questions that were not multiple choice, and allowing the use of a calculator for the first time. The average score on the 1994 modification of the SAT I was usually around 1000 (500 on the verbal, 500 on the math). The most selective schools in the United States (for example, those in the Ivy League) typically had SAT averages exceeding 1400 on the old test.

Beginning with the March 12, 2005 administration of the exam, the SAT Reasoning Test was modified and lengthened. Changes included the removal of analogy questions from the Critical Reading (formerly Verbal) section and quantitative comparisons from the Math section, and the inclusion of a writing section (with an essay) based on the former SAT II Writing Subject Test. The Mathematics section was expanded to cover three years of high school mathematics.

Taking the test

The SAT is offered seven times a year in the United States, in October, November, December, January, March (or April, alternating), May, and June. The test is typically offered on the first Saturday of the month for the November, December, May, and June administrations. In other countries, the SAT is offered on the same dates as in the United States except for the first spring test date (i.e., March or April), which is not offered. In 2006, the test was taken 1,465,744 times.

Candidates may either take the SAT Reasoning Test or up to three SAT Subject Tests on any given test date, except the first spring test date, when only the SAT Reasoning Test is offered. Candidates wishing to take the test may register online at the College Board's website, by mail, or by telephone, at least three weeks before the test date.

The SAT Subject Tests are all given in one large book on test day. Therefore, it is actually immaterial which tests, and how many, the student signs up for; with the possible exception of the language tests with listening, the student may change his or her mind and take any tests, regardless of his or her initial signups.

The SAT Reasoning Test costs $43 ($68 International). For the Subject tests, students pay a $20 Basic Registration Fee and $8 per test (except for language tests with listening, which cost $20 each). The College Board makes fee waivers available for low income students. Additional fees apply for late registration, standby testing, registration changes, scores by telephone, and extra score reports (beyond the four provided for free).

Candidates whose religious beliefs prevent them from taking the test on a Saturday may request to take the test on the following Sunday, except for the October test date in which the Sunday test date is eight days after the main test offering. Such requests must be made at the time of registration and are subject to denial.

Students with verifiable disabilities, including physical and learning disabilities, are eligible to take the SAT with accommodations. The standard time increase for students requiring additional time due to learning disabilities is 50%.

Raw scores, scaled scores and percentiles

Students receive their online score report approximately three weeks after administration of the test (six weeks for mailed, paper scores), with each section graded on a scale of 200–800 and two sub scores for the writing section: the essay score and the multiple choice sub score. In addition to their score, students receive their percentile (the percentage of other test takers with lower scores). The raw score, or the number of points gained from correct answers and lost from incorrect answers (ranges from just under 50 to just under 60, depending upon the test), is also included. Students may also receive, for an additional fee, the Question and Answer Service, which provides the student's answer, the correct answer to each question, and online resources explaining each question.

The corresponding percentile of each scaled score varies from test to test—for example, in 2003, a scaled score of 800 in both sections of the SAT Reasoning Test corresponded to a percentile of 99.9, while a scaled score of 800 in the SAT Physics Test corresponded to the 94th percentile. The differences in what scores mean with regard to percentiles are because of the content of the exam and the caliber of students choosing to take each exam. Subject Tests are subject to intensive study (often in the form of an AP, which is relatively more difficult), and only those who know they will perform well tend to take these tests, creating a skewed or non-linear distribution of scores.

The percentiles that various SAT scores for college-bound seniors correspond to are summarized in the following chart:

Percentile	Score, 1600 Scale (official, 2006)	Score, 2400 Scale (official, 2006)
99.98	1600	2400
99.65	≥1550	≥2300
99	≥1480	≥2200
98	≥1450	≥2140
97	≥1420	≥2100
88	≥1380	≥1900
83	≥1280	≥1800
78	≥1200	≥1770
72	≥1150	≥1700
61	≥1090	≥1600
48	≥1010	≥1500
36	≥950	≥1400
15	≥810	≥1200
4	≥670	≥1010
1	≥520	≥790

The older SAT (before 1995) had a very high ceiling. In any given year, only seven of the million test-takers scored above 1580. A score above 1580 was equivalent to the 99.9995 percentile.

History, name changes and recentered scores

The initials SAT have been used since the test was first introduced in 1901, when it was known as the Scholastic Achievement Test. The test was used mainly by colleges and universities in the northeastern United States. The SAT was originally developed as a way to eliminate test bias between people from different socio-economic backgrounds. It was developed by Carl Brigham, one of the psychologists who worked on the Army Alpha and Beta tests. In 1941, after considerable development, the College Board changed the name to the Scholastic Aptitude Test. While the inclusion of the word "achievement" in the name of the test suggests that the test evaluates the student's accomplishments, the word "aptitude" suggests the evaluation of the student's potential—i.e., intelligence. In 1990, because of uncertainty about the SAT's ability to function as an intelligence test, the name was changed to Scholastic Assessment Test. Finally, in 1994, the name was changed to simply SAT (with the letters not standing for anything).

The test scoring was initially scaled to make 500 the mean score on each section with a standard deviation of 100. As the test grew more popular and more students from less rigorous schools began taking the test, the average dropped to about 428 Verbal and 478 Math. The SAT was "recentered" in 1995, and the average "new" score became again close to 500. Scores awarded after 1994 and before October 2001 are officially reported with an "R" (e.g. 1260R) to reflect this change. Old scores may be recentered to compare to 1995 to present scores by using official College Board tables, which in the middle ranges add about 70 points to Verbal and 20 or 30 points to Math. In other words, current students have a 70 and 30 point advantage over their parents.

In 2005, the test was changed again, largely in response to criticism by the University of California system.[3] Because of issues concerning ambiguous questions, especially analogies, certain types of questions were eliminated (the analogies disappeared altogether). The test was made marginally harder, as a corrective to the rising number of perfect scores. A new writing section was added, in part to increase the chances of closing the opening gap between the highest and midrange scores. Other factors included the desire to test the writing ability of each student in a personal manner; hence the essay. The New SAT (known as the SAT Reasoning Test) was first offered on March 12, 2005, after the last administration of the "old" SAT in January of 2005.

In March of 2006, it was announced that a small percentage of the SAT tests taken in October 2005 had been scored incorrectly due to the test papers being moist and not scanning properly, and that some students had received substantially erroneous scores. The College Board announced they would change the scores for the students who were given a lower score than they earned, but at this point many of those students had already applied to colleges using their original scores. The College Board decided not to change the scores for the students who were given a higher score than they earned. A lawsuit was filed in 2005 by about 4,400 students who received an incorrect low score on the SAT. The class-action suit was settled in August 2007 when The College Board and another company that administers the college-admissions test announced they would pay $2.85 million to over 4,000 students. Under the agreement each student can either elect to receive $275 or submit a claim for more money if he or she feels the damage was even greater.

Criticism

Bias

A famous example of alleged bias in the SAT I is the oarsman-regatta analogy question. The object of the question was to find the pair of terms that have the relationship most similar to the relationship between "runner" and "marathon". The correct answer was "oarsman" and "regatta".

As shown above, SAT scores vary according to race, income, and parental educational background

The question relied upon students knowing the meaning of the two terms, referring to a sport popular with the wealthy. While 53% of white students correctly answered the question, only 22% of black students did. [4] Analogy questions have since been replaced by short reading passages. However, gaps in scoring between black students and white students persist. [5]

Dropping SAT

Some liberal arts colleges have responded to this criticism by joining the SAT optional movement. These colleges do not require the SAT for admission.

In a 2001 speech to the American Council on Education, Richard C. Atkinson, then president of the University of California, urged dropping the SAT Reasoning Test as a college admissions requirement:

"Anyone involved in education should be concerned about how overemphasis on the SAT is distorting educational priorities and practices, how the test is perceived by many as unfair, and how it can have a devastating impact on the self-esteem and aspirations of young students. There is widespread agreement that overemphasis on the SAT harms American education." [6]

In response to threats by the University of California to drop the SAT as an admission requirement, the College Entrance Examination Board announced the restructuring of the SAT, to take effect in March 2005, as detailed above.

Essay

In 2005, MIT professor Les Perelman plotted essay length versus essay score on the new SAT from released essays and found a high correlation between them. After studying 23 graded essays he found that the longer the essay was, the higher the score. He also discovered that several of these essays were full of factual errors. However, the official SAT guide for scorers state that the essays should be scored according to their quality of writing and not factual accuracy. The National Council of Teachers of English also criticize the 25-minute writing section of the test, arguing that the basic principles of writing encourage the revision of written material several times. They say that the amount of time allowed for the test pushes schools to develop a formulaic system of writing. [7]

See also

• SAT Subject Tests
• List of admissions tests
• SAT Essay Prompts
• PSAT/NMSQT
• ACT (examination), a college entrance exam, competitor to the SAT

Further reading

• Frey, M.C. and Detterman, D.K. (2003) Scholastic Assessment or g? The Relationship Between the Scholastic Assessment Test and General Cognitive Ability. Psychological Science, 15(6):373–378. PDF
• Gould, Stephen Jay. The Mismeasure of Man. W. W. Norton & Company; Rev/Expd edition 1996. ISBN 0-393-31425-1.
• Hoffman, Banesh. The Tyranny of Testing. Orig. pub. Collier, 1962. ISBN 0-486-43091-X (and others).
• Owen, David. None of the Above: The Truth Behind the SATs. Revised edition. Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. ISBN 0-8476-9507-7.
• Sacks, Peter. Standardized Minds: The High Price of America's Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It. Perseus, 2001. ISBN 0-7382-0433-1.
• Zwick, Rebecca. Fair Game? The Use of Standardized Admissions Tests in Higher Education. Falmer, 2002. ISBN 0-415-92560-6.

External links

• Official SAT Reasoning Test page