So the SAT in my area was cancelled…
Because it was cancelled mostly in the northeast, which generally does well on the SAT, won’t the curve be much harsher?
Thank You!
That’s not how to curve equating system works. It is a very complex process and it is not based at all on whether a smart or not so smart group of studnets take the test.
The curve is set before the test is administered. Who takes it, and how well they do, has no effect on the curve.
@neatoburrito has it.
Well, almost. The curve is NOT set before the test is given. But since it is set by comparing the testing group’s performance on the test to their performance on the historically indexed items in the experimental sections, it is not affected by the strength or weakness of the day’s given group. Bottom line: nothing to worry about.
So what’s the verdict. Is the makeup a different test or no
@pckeller - do you have evidence of this? Past recycled tests here in Korea have had the same curve as the test did when it was initially given in the US.
I was not talking about recycled tests. I don’t know how they proceed with those tests. But it would make most sense to use the curve that was established when that test was given the first time. As for my evidence of how the curves are established, I believe you can find that in white papers on the college board site. I learned it here at CC! @fignewton explained it in thread a few years back.
But to the larger point: I agree with you that it is lazy and unfair to recycle the tests. But it is the colleges that will have to lead this fight if they want to. But maybe they don’t care: here we have a cohort of high scoring students who can bring up the average SAT score for the school, while perhaps not even getting any financial aid (depending on the school).
@pckeller - “But it is the colleges that will have to lead this fight if they want to.”
Maybe. I tend to believe, though, that enough media attention could also have this effect. PR is very important to the CB, esp. as ACT has so rapidly grabbed marketshare.
- So is the make up test a completely different one from the people who took the one on the 24th?
- So the curve on this makeup will be different from the curve of the one people took on the 24th?
Yes to both. And I believe that the curve for the new test will be the one that they established whenever they originally gave the test. But in the big picture, none of this is worth worrying about. Prepare as best as you can and then go take the thing.
Related question. Daughter was supposed to take SAT on 1/24. Rescheduled to 2/7 which conflicts with a family event. Should we just register her for 3/14? Is the curve usually worse for that sitting? (I profess to having no clue about the curve. When I took the SAT in the late 70s, we took it once and didn’t worry about curves.)
There is no pattern to the curve – just take the test that best suits your schedule. Also, remember that if you paid the extra money for the Question and Answer service on the January test, they owe you a refund. Q and A is not available for the March test.
Thanks. One of my friends said that her son’s tutor said that the March curve was tough.
That tutor is misinformed.