<p>Michelle Hernandez original book noted the effect of the reentering in 1993(?), which was to literally explode the number of 800s upward. In effect the test has been dumbed down, I believe. There are hundreds of kids with 800s who wouldn’t have received them when we grew up. And the ones who would have are obscured in the cluster at the top. Edit: The 2010 class had nearly 12,000 800s in math, and 8600 in verbal(CR). </p>
<p>On the other hand, since they change the tests from time to time, I suppose its possible from year to year to have a question list that actually leads to slightly lower scores overall. It would be fascinating to study the SAT results in detail to ascertain both levels of mastery of certain skills and common mistakes made in reading and math. Changing one question could easily lead to that result, I believe. </p>
<p>My point is that a one year shift (previous comment notwithstanding) of a point or two may not actually indicate the people are less competent in an absolute sense.</p>