<p>Which do you (CCers) think is the date where the SAT I curve is best?</p>
<p>I know that normally March, October, November are among the most popular dates. I'm taking the test in January, and I'd like to know how good (or bad) the curve might be compared to other popular dates.</p>
<p>You can't predict. Don't worry about stupid things like the curve. Just focus on doing your best.</p>
<p>u also need to remember that even though the curve's good for one section it might not be the case for other sections which might negate the advantage. IIRC last january's CR was generous but writing was hard</p>
<p>The curves are based on the difficulty of the questions, so you're not going to find an "easier" time to take the SAT.</p>
<p>I thought curves were also affected by percentile, such as the pool of test takers being more competitive/ less competitive. </p>
<p>PS: Alpha, I thank you for your concern, but its just that I'm also concerned on some micro factors that might maximize/minimize my score.</p>
<p>I'm thinking May or June, when all the slacker juniors have to take it, without any seniors who've had previous experience.</p>
<p>
I second that.</p>
<p>^ I agree with that, but however a curve can make the difference between a 2200 and a 2300, which in my opinion is mildly significant for personal self-esteem (lol).</p>
<p>Anyways, I'd say the WORST Curve is in the early months of September-December, because thats when the fewest people take it, and thus the curves, being percentile/close-to-bell curves, can only have a certain amount of people who score well per section. When the most people take it , in March, then they need to have more people get high scores, so thus logically it technically is 'easier' because you can get more questions (mabye a -4 for that score instead of a -3) wrong and still get the same score.</p>
<p>On the Nov. SAT I I got 3 math questions wrong and that was a -80 out of 800...oh noes!</p>
<p>
I second that.
I third that.</p>
<p>I don't think that there is a month where the curve is standard. My advice: just keep taking the test as many times as you can. What if the January test has a very easy math section, or a section that has CR passages that are fun to read like that are on the Civil/Revolutionary War and not on philosophies of Greeks or some guy complaining about how literature didn't have enough feel to it during the 1980s.</p>
<p>College Board officially said something like it doesn't matter by our curving process, but IMHO, JUNE!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>There's no way to predict. Whenever there's a good curve, it's for a good reason (i.e. hard test) and whenever there's a terrible curve, it's because the test was terribly easy. The College Board uses the "equating" section to make sure that test-takers won't be positively or negatively affected by the curve.</p>
<p>Seriously, when I walked into the SAT in December, I didn't worry about the curve or whatnot. I just answered the questions and focused. And I got my score. That's all you have to do, man. You'll get the score you deserve; there's no point in trying to cheat the system by finding a particular date with a particular curve, 'cuz it all balances out.</p>
<p>^ No it doesnt, the percentile example still shows. They can't have 2% of test takers scoringa 800 on a section, so thus they have to arrange the curve so that some of those good scorers score less. It's simple. What would it mean for a 800 if 50% of test takers took it?</p>
<p>The curve is an enormously arbiter in SAT scores - just pray that collegeboard has mercy on you during your test day.</p>
<p>in october, I got a 730 on the writing with a score of 9 on the essay and 1 wrong on MC
in june, I got a 800 in writing with a socre of 11 on essay and 1 wrong on MC</p>
<p>big difference IMO</p>
<p>^ What point are you trying to prove? A higher essay score with the same MC choice score = higher writing score? Thanks.</p>
<p>The SAT is designed so that scores from one test date are comparable to those from another so there is no such thing as a “best curve” date. Sure, it is to be expected there is to be some fluctuation in one’s scores from one test date to another but that it normal.</p>
<p>@ mabsjenbu123, there is such a thing as a better curve, if the people that took the test that same day did extremely bad compared to people in other test dates (raw score), then I would get a better score.</p>
<p>@Joker
no the “curves” or the chart that converts the raw to scaled score is determined prior to the administration of the test (the experimental sections from prior tests help to determine the difficulty of the questions. The overall difficulty of the questions -not the test takers’ ability is then used using statistical methods to create the conversion chart). This is done exactly so that the ability of the test-taking population has no impact</p>
<p>Think about it this way using an extreme example. Let’s say half the people who take the test get every question right. If the curve was determined with these results, someone who misses a measly 3 questions would prob get <2000 even tho they should get 2300+</p>
<p>If that is true then the difference between overall scores with the same raw scores would not be as big.</p>