@NickFlynn if you are up for giving your thought on the issue of why the CB would not want to appease those that would rather cancel their score and get a retake sometime shortly over the summer? Seems it would go a long way to restoring “faith” in the system sort of speak, no? It seems that it is listed as an option in their terms of service if a testing irregularity occurs.
reaching out to colleges was probably done as you said… but to me that just further points out to colleges how these tests may a bit more “unreliable” than presented and therefore (as a whole, not just June 6)… not worth considering in the eyes of a college in the future.
I do agree at this point CB is not going to bend and as much as I do admire the students… I do have to agree this most likely is a done deal and most are moving on…
I would like a re-test that’s not on October because I am planning to take my SAT II’s, but judging from what CB is doing I don’t think CB will be generous enough to make another test for 400,000+ students free of charge. I guess they don’t want to dish out money. It would be nice “nerve calmer” if CB put out the curve scale information beforehand, but I don’t think they will do that either.
perhaps there are enough students that would not or could not do a retake this summer. Some trust them, some can’t for various reasons and some don’t want to be bothered and some want to see these scores.
perhaps that fact that the score would be cancelled and not seen if the retake is requested would cut down on the number of retakes to a reasonable amount?
seems like it would adhere to their terms policy and put this to rest for most
@lolly199 I don’t speak for the College Board (seriously) but if I had to guess, I would assume that there are actually very few people who would show up for a retest over the summer. They are getting the cranky phone calls and nasty emails and all the rest, and I think the numbers probably show them that it is an extremely small number of people who would actually want a summer retest.
I think the public perception of the tests and the reality of how they are used by colleges has always been quite a bit different - some of that perception (mis-perception?) has been very evident in many of the comments here in this thread…when that is combined with the tension and high stakes of the test, this is what you get (at least from a small minority.)
@nickflynn - Your assumption that they went ahead with colleges approval is wrong. I emailed some of the colleges my son may be applying to the ones that have respodned said they are taking a wait and see approach before deciding on whether to accept the June SAT’s. Plus there is no way they were able to get a hold of most of the colleges that use these scores before they came out with their first decision to use not use section 8 or 9… Think about it that would involve contacting over 2,000 colleges.
My son will be taking it again. Because he will be an 11th grader next year and honestly we will have no idea whether it is a true example of his score. He has taken the PSAT the last 2 years so I am assuming that his score should be in the range of those two scores. If it’s either a lot higher or lower then I think that the scoring system that they are using this time is way off.
@NickFlynn thanks… I know you don’t speak for them, was just curious.
I was kind of thinking the same thing… I do think it would be a small number really willing to forgo seeing this score and taking a summer retest. Perhaps that is a behind the scenes compromise between CB and an individual if they push the issue privately with CB. Who knows. I guess they can try to pursue that privately if they would like to give it a try.
This only has occurred because of the College Board error. For those that think the scoring method is good enough, they can choose to accept it. But for those who want complete accuracy, not just good enough, there should be an optional retest. If it is as small a minority as some suggest, it would be a minor expense and effort for the College Board. However, most certainly, there are many many complaints beyond those made by people who have seen the petition (which grows almost minutely). The curious thing is why people bother to argue and fight with those who want an optional retest. If it does not affect you or you are happy with the College Board reply then it’s simply not your issue. Change only happens when people speak up and question the status quo. And oftentimes, change starts small. So keep sending that edition around and getting it out to the media! Clearly, it’s making some worried enough to weigh in.
You do understand that if they give a retest, and hardly anyone takes it, that test will have severely compromised validity, right? How is that any kind of answer to the current complaints?
@xiggi What makes you say that? The first things they teach you in a Statistics course is: 1.) Larger sample size = more accurate (more questions in our case) and 2.) You can’t perform certain statistical tests with heavily skewed distributions.
It’s easy for you to say this, since it’s not personal. Did you see the petition? This is OUR future.
is it for student who took the test on June?
Will it be for free?
If not, then it has nothing to do with the June test. If schools will trust that score, it must be for something.
They already had these tests scheduled. Presumably they had a sufficient number of testers already. They simply add the re-testers to that group. Not complicated.
Actually, it is kind of complicated, and the fact that the June 20th test takers are taking a completely different test than the folks in May and June kind of underscores how every SAT test is in effect just a statistical sample that ESTIMATES student ability. It’s not an absolute measurement that is infallible when 9 sections are scored, and invalid when 7 sections are scored.
It doesn’t have to be. That’s the easy fix here. They can add June 6 re-takes if they want to. There are also a bunch of makeup tests scheduled on June 20.
