<p>Would you say May or March has the best curve for the SAT, as in you can get the most questions wrong for the highest score? Apparently I heard that sometimes you can even get 5 questions wrong on the math section still get a 750 sometimes if the curve is right!!!! I got three wrong on the November SAT and that was -80 points, so apparently I chose a bad date for the curve there, but I'm retaking it in March.</p>
<p>Would be interesting to know but I am trying to do is get as many questions right and not continuously have that their is a curve in my mind, I don't want any sort of lack of effort.</p>
<p>Rumor is that curves are nicest in the fall as slacker seniors rush to take the test before college apps and, since they are huge procrastinators already, don't prepare and bomb it. It's just rumor though. Curves don't really work that way.... or do they? haha.</p>
<p>lol, stop thinking that much!!!!!</p>
<p>There is no "better date" for taking the SAT. Here's an explanation of how College Board equates scores.</p>
<p>Well there is, since the scores are based on percentiles, and thus when the most people take them then more people are allowed to get high scores. After all, a 99.99th percentile score can only go to ppl in the 99.99th percentile, but if in a group of 100 people, that can only go to one person, while in a group of 10,000, that can go to nearly a dozen. </p>
<p>Based on my experiences too, normally on the SAT -3 math questions does not give -80, so mabye it was just a evil test or mabye the curve theory was at work.</p>
<p>
No, the percentiles are based on scores. Scores are based on equating and scaling.</p>
<p>The "curve theory" is bunk.</p>
<p>Oh ok, sorry for the misconception lol.</p>
<p>As far as I know, curves are predetermined based on the perceived difficulty of the test and is in no way affected by the number of students who take the test or the time of the year.</p>
<p>Jan .</p>
<p>Ya definitely. January = best curve, and most consistent at it too. Not sure how this past test turned out, but I know that Jan 06/07 had abnormally easy curves.</p>
<p>"The 'curve theory' is bunk."</p>
<p>Exactly. I'm not sure why there is such a persistent myth that there is some better date (or place) to take the exam. The link above explains how equating works.</p>
<p>I heard that January has the best curve, but don't count on it to make a huge difference.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that they decide on the curve before the test is administered, so it doesn't really matter how well people actually do on the test.</p>