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SAT goes back to 1,600 scale, makes other major changes

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by LongTimeListener, Mar 6, 2014.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Well, they should change that then.
     
  2. da man

    da man Well-Known Member

    Why?
     
  3. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Because the integrity of the scoring depends on it. A 1500 in 2014 should mean the same to a university as a 1500 in 1974. They should know where that places a student among his or her peers.
     
  4. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I have no idea how the College Board grades the test. But I am certain that to score it accurately from test to test they need to adjust for test design. There can be slight differences in difficulty between tests -- there is no way to design tests that are exactly equal to each other. Which is why they have to adjust statistically based on how the sample of people taking the test did. I don't know the exact mechanism they use, but I will bet with certainty that they do some form of equating.
     
  5. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    What a 1500 meant in 1974 doesn't mean fuck-all to a college or university now. You're being considered only among your cohorts -- today's applicants. What's true then is true now -- if your score is better than others, that is good.
     
  6. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Of course you are right. But related (or maybe unrelated), they need to make certain that a 1500 on the most current test equals a 1500 in the test given a few months before.
     
  7. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I don't understand how this is different than what I'm saying. Schools shouldn't have to figure out how much better a 1500 is compared to one's peers from year to year. That's what I'm saying.
     
  8. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I am certain the schools don't need to figure out anything. I will bet with certainty that the College Board adjusts its scoring to equate the tests statistically. Otherwise the test would be meaningless. If two kids apply and they took the test at different times, you need to be able to compare their scores.
     
  9. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    I would presume schools would do that by noting the date the test was taken. My son, a junior, took the ACT in December, and he will take it again in April. Then, he'll take it as a senior in August or September, I believe. The schools will get a timestamp on those scores.

    Dick, what I'm saying is that schools don't have to figure out how different peers are from year to year. The name-brand on the test is the same. All they have to do is look at the score and compare it to other applicants. It's not that stressful for the admissions department. Presumably someone will tell it when the new SAT is in place.
     
  10. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    We'd need to see scores scaled to percentiles from test to test. I'm sure that's out there.
     
  11. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    I don't remember which months, but I've heard my students discussing strategies about when to take it based on the other pool of students; something like take it in February because that's when it's mostly people who are taking it again because they did poorly the first time.
     
  12. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Can you explain what you mean by that? Your percentile is just a measure of how many test takers performed worse than you. What do you need to see?
     
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