from midwest and havent had kids take SATs. Because i’m not familiar with it, i am confused on scores.
so in 1990; a relative had a 1420 and was a NMSF. What was the max in 1990?
Then kids started scoring in 2000s. When did that happen and what was added to make it 2400 max?
and now, scores are out of 1600 i gather. Is the same situation and type of test as in 1990?
a short history would be really appreciated!!!
Pre-2005, the SAT was out of 1600. This SAT was seen more as an aptitude test and many kids didn’t bother studying and learning the test the way kids do these days. Back then, a 1440 was like a 32 on the ACT and a 1520 was good to go for Harvard (75th percentile or 34 ACT). The SAT used to be really hard and wasn’t as prep able as it is now.
Then in 2005, the SAT changed to a 2400 scale. This test had three components: Math, Critical Reading, and Writing each with a score of 800. These three sections added up to 2400. This test was more-learnable and the test prep industry took off. Soon, more kids could study their way to a perfect score and a 2400 became less valuable to colleges than an old-SAT 1600. The 25th percentile for a school like Harvard was a 2250 and 75th 2300. Since kids started scoring higher, colleges developed higher expectations.
In 2015, the SAT changed again for the easier (believe me) back to the 1600. This was because of many criticisms of the 2400 SAT. Many people talked about how forcing kids to memorize hundreds of useless vocab was unfair and how the test catered to wealthy kids who could afford better materials and thus better scores. The SAT also from 2012 onward became less popular than the ACT test. The test also deducted points for every mistake making silly mistakes more detrimental. The new SAT got rid of vocab, ripped off ACT English for their Writing section, and made math problems MUCH, MUCH easier. They got rid of point deductions for wrong answers. Because of this, the SAT is now easier than it has every been. Now the 25th percentile for Harvard is a 1540 and 75th is a perfect 1600.
So, in short, the SAT IS MUCH EASIER than in 1990. A 1420 is practically a 1540 on the new SAT.
I hope that helps!
No idea where these Harvard numbers came from, Harvard hasn’t released the data for that determination. We really can’t use the 1600 data for admissions until we know all the applicants were using the new test. That will be the Class of 2022.
For scores older than 1995 an additional wrinkle:
https://research.collegeboard.org/programs/sat/data/equivalence
The link above shows that 1420 in 1990 equates to a 1490 in the SAT 1995-2005 era. Can’t find anything that would bridge that score to the current test. Based on my mid 1980s scores a 1420 was 99%, so yes, 1510+ on the current test.
But it is a bit unfair to those who take prep programs and study for the SAT. Whenever a student who scores lower gets to guess without deduction, he gains a bigger advantage compared to students who normally do better.
And my parent’s still force me to study vocab 
As someone who’s been taking the SAT nonstop since 1997, I can tell you that it isn’t much harder (or easier) than it used to be; it’s just different.
The one aspect of the SAT that has clearly changed, however, is the scaling and the percentiles. SAT scores (both scaled scores and percentile scores) are now higher due to inflation, which is why a 1490 on the old SAT is about a 1520 on the new test, for example.
ok. Can you all explain the PSAT and it’s scoring now? and what it was a few years ago? and how they relate? THANKS!
NMSF is based on PSAT score, not SAT.
Your parents are right.
^^ no idea what the 1990 psat score was; just know the sat score from then.
Can you explain how the psat scores work today? A few years ago the PSAT scores were 3 digits - like 192 or 206 or 178. Now they are different and i havent paid attention to what the changes are.
@bgbg4us - PSAT scoring has changed a lot, but for Nat’l Merit, a “selection index” is used. A selection index is (Evidence-Based Reading and Writing X 2 + Math) / 10, so if you have a pair of 700s, then your selection index is 210 (700*2=1400. 1400+700 = 2100. 2100/10 = 210).
There have been many, many changes in the SAT over the course of its history.
One change that is significant for people applying to super-selective colleges is that there are many more students scoring at the upper end of the curve. Back in the 1970s, for example, 99th percentile was in the 600s per section.
Since very high SAT scores were so rare, scores over 700 per section more or less guaranteed admission to top universities (assuming there were no major problems with the rest of the application).
SAT scores lost this function after the 1995 re-centering of the curve, which added 100 points overnight to scores at or near the top of the curve. A person who scored 770 was suddenly indistinguishable from a person who scored 670.
This had significant consequences in the admissions offices. In particular, it gave admissions officers much more flexibility about who they could admit without ruining the SAT statistics of their universities or opening the door to law suits.
https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RR-02-04-Dorans.pdf
It is not that easy to determine in an objective way whether the SAT is easier because the population taking the test changes at the same time the test changes. Even if the same person has taken both old and new versions of the test, the person may have changed a lot during the intervening years.
ETS tried to study changes in SAT scoring for the period between 1963 and 1973 by giving the same group of students both old and new versions of the test more or at less at the same time. I believe this is the only scientifically accepted concordance procedure. ETS found that there is significant score drift probably due to small differences in the equating process that add up over time. On average, verbal became 14 points easier and math 17 points easier over the 10 year period.