<p>My position is a bit of a conflicted one as while I feel the SAT scores tend to be discounted too heavily by some in assessing a student's academic capabilities/preparation for college academics/college life, I also feel scores aren't the be-all and end-all in those areas, either.</p>
<p>Thus, while I am concerned, it's probably not to the extent of standardized scores uber alles camp.</p>
<p>The slippage may be more of a concern on a population basis, even though SAT scores may not be particularly reliable predictors of college performance on an individual basis.</p>
<p>However, did the number and/or composition of SAT takers change? That can affect the score averages.</p>
<p>Why does psychology seem to attract lower scorers than other social sciences (1484 versus 1661)?</p>
<p>In one lecture in the stats course I took, there was the discussion of how the decline of average SAT scores since the mid-1960’s is natural as a result of a greater proportion of the US high school juniors & seniors applying to colleges compared with before the mid-'60s. </p>
<p>However, that lecture took place over a decade ago so it doesn’t cover more recent trends in SAT scores.</p>
<p>I expect the small decrease in scores over time primarily relates to a larger percentage of students taking the test. You see the same pattern in individual states. For example, in the older 2010 data I’m viewing, the state with the highest participation rate is the same state that had the lowest average score – Maine at 92% participation and 935 (M+V). And the state with the lowest participation rate is the same state that had the highest average score – Iowa at 3% participation and 1216 (M+V). Score trends like this have little meaning unless you correct for changes in who is taking the test.</p>
<p>Agree as well about the addition of more test takers. Our local high school now has a program where every junior is afforded the opportunity to take the SAT. The compliance rate is very high.</p>
<p>This slight decrease in SAT scores must be a product of increased access to college and pressure on so many students to take that route. We have a president who proclaims “Everyone should have the right to go to college” (and to accumulate debt while not finishing!)</p>
<p>If guidance counselors everywhere helped students investigate other paths, with society’s support, and fewer students took the SAT’s, scores would go up I think.</p>
<p>I am an older adult who has taken a few college classes in recent years, out of interest. The level of academic skill in my classes was low enough to be disturbing.</p>
<p>Looking at the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores (PSAT in junior year), they continue to climb in most states, even though access to the test is increasing. So, it appears skill levels of the top 1 to 4% in the country continue to improve. The Math scores of the top 5% are actually higher than they were a few decades ago. Todays Math 690 is yesterdays 700. The average SAT scores of students at Ivy League schools for example are much higher. In addition, non white students are proportionately doing better than white students.</p>
<p>The SAT is often taken by 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th graders these days as part of Talent Identification Programs offered by Johns Hopkins, Duke University TIPs and others. In addition, many school districts are paying the SAT application fees enabling students to take the test for free, who have no immediate plans of attending college.</p>
<p>Scores in NYS could drop further if all community colleges in the state required standardized tests of first year students. But they don’t, at least around my part of the state. It is pretty common for students who either plan to enter the workforce or attend community college to avoid taking the SAT. It’s not just a money thing either. Some students just don’t want to sit through a 4 hour plus test on a Saturday when they could be doing something they enjoy – like sleeping.</p>
<p>You know what will happen hext. The usual - the standards of already very low level of SAT test (way way lower than any reasonable college reauirement) will be lowered further…the desease does not get treated ever, only symptoms.</p>
<p>if one looks at the actual data, it is only the VR & W that have ‘slipped’ (and since both of those are require similar knowledge/skills, if one goes down, the other will go down as well?) . SAT-Math scores has remained flat since '07.</p>
<p>fwiw: the drop in CR/W mirrors the drop in ACT-English/Reading. ACT-M also declined year-over-year.</p>
<p>BTW, perazziman is right - the original M=700 translates to a recentered M=690. It’s a bit weird what happens between 710 and 600 (original score) on the Math.</p>
<p>Also please look at Math II scores, where the adjustment is -30 or where todays 750 is yesterday’s 780 and today’s 670 is the old 700. However, in spite of these adjustments there are proportionately more kids scoring above the new 700 than ever before.</p>
<p>With some states requiring (and paying for) students to take the ACT, an increasing number of students are not taking the SAT. It is possible that some of those ACT takers would otherwise be high performing SAT takers.</p>
<p>Also, during the 90’s and 00’s the U.S. experienced a surge of immigrants from non-English speaking countries. It is possible that there was an increase in test takers from non-English speaking homes and from families whose parents never went to college. I would think that the College Board would have that data, don’t they ask test takers to bubble in responses to questions about language spoken in the home? Has College Board controlled for that in drawing its conclusions?</p>
<p>And, the 2008 recession and the subsequesnt economic slow down has left many parents unemployed or underemployed - that can create environments for children less condusive to preparation for college. Just random speculation.</p>
<p>without digging into things too much, it looks like virtually all of the drop should be explainable in terms of increased participation (up to 40.7% compared to only 35.7% of each year’s original ninth grade cohort) and changing demographics (most of that growth is coming from hispanic test takers).</p>
<p>heck, it looks like if one controls for educational attainment of parents scores would actually be up a bit.</p>
<p>@ucb: I could not find pre 1995 percentile distribution for college board achievement test Math level II scores on the internet. Any suggestions on where to look? I am pretty sure that 55% did not score 700+, but I cannot find the exact figures on it.</p>
<p>Doesn’t seem too obviously findable. However, I remember seeing percentiles for the Math Level II Achievement Test (as the SAT Subject Tests were called back then) back in the 1980s; a score of 800 was something like the 88th percentile.</p>
<p>Remember that Math Level II then and now gets a self-selected group of test takers; it was only appropriate for students a year ahead in math (on-level students would not complete enough of trigonometry and precalculus in time to take the test in early senior year), so it generally got the students who were the best in math.</p>