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Convert individual and mean scores from the original scale to the recentered scaleA 700 on critical reading today was a 640 prior to 1995.
In April 1995, the College Board recentered the score scales for all tests in the SAT Program to reflect the contemporary test-taking population. Recentering reestablished the average score for a study group of 1990 seniors at about 500—the midpoint of the 200-to-800 scale—allowing students, schools, and colleges to more easily interpret their scores in relation to those of a similar group of college-bound seniors.
A 700 on math today was a 710 prior to 1995, and the math test today covers more material.
12 comments:
Did you read the article that Alison linked in the "Are Schools Preparing..." comment thread? It's interesting, though I skimmed after a bit. I had not been aware of the large steps in scoring at the upper end of the verbal scale prior to recentering. (One error could result in a drop of 30 pts, for instance.)
Why do the math scores between 660 and 710 go down by 10 pts. while all the other math scores either go up slightly or remain the same? Is there a typo on the table?
My math score from 1982, if re-centered, was exactly the same as my score from Jan. 2011 SAT.
I had not been aware of the large steps in scoring at the upper end of the verbal scale prior to recentering. (One error could result in a drop of 30 pts, for instance.)
That cannot have been true for all that period. One of my friends got a 799 on the Verbal -- so, obviously not perfect, but not a drop of 30 points either. We shared results, and I saw the computer printout myself. It was 799. Others got scores that were not multiples of ten -- scores like 682, 714 and so on. There must have been different scoring methods at different times, or else the chart is simply dealing in rounded numbers.
Did you read the article that Alison linked in the "Are Schools Preparing...
No!
But I will!
One error could result in a drop of 30 pts, for instance
right - the upper end was all screwy
that's why my own verbal score was in the low 700s (and who else talked about that - oh, it was Crimson Wife)
My math score from 1982, if re-centered, was exactly the same as my score from Jan. 2011 SAT.
Me, too!
I was SO disappointed!
palisadesk - what year are your cohort's scores from?
In the article, it says that the last digit has been set to 0 for 30 years. I believe the stretch from 1972-2002 (pub year) is meant.
For about 30 years, the last digit of
the three-digit score has been fixed at zero. Earlier, a full
three-digit score was reported.
@Crimson Wife - The conversion for the math scores is non-linear. Again - it's in that paper.... on pg. 11.
I'll just re-link, if I can:
The Recentering of SAT scores...
Oops...trying again
The Recentering of SAT scores...
kcab, guess I should have read the fine print. It was 1971. So, would the probability of getting an 800 be lower or higher once they went to reporting only scores in units of 10? It doesn't explain the paradox that several people in my class got 800s.I guess the person who got the 799 would have scored lower with the new system -- unless it would be rounded up to 800?
I took the GRAs much later, around 1980. I got an identical score on the GRE verbal to my SAT V, but my score on the GRE math was higher than my SAT M (although I didn't take math in college, I did take lab sciences and a course in statistics in the psychology department, so maybe that explains it).
The part of the SAT V I found most challenging -- not difficult, but requiring careful thought -- was the analogies section, which has now been eliminated. Some of the choices required making subtle distinctions among relationships and concepts.
I don't know that I would've wanted to take the re-centered exam in that case. I'm not sure the gain on the verbal would've been enough to offset my math score dropping below the magic 700 cutoff. Ten points shouldn't really make or break an application because it's within the margin of error, but Stanford got so many applicants even back then that 690 vs. 700 could be the difference between acceptance & wait-listing or rejection.
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