March 2016 SAT = 22 incorrect = Score = 1430
May 2016 SAT = 15 incorrect = Score = 1490
June 2016 SAT. =. 7. Incorrect =Score = 1520 ??
How does my son’s score only go up 30 points when reducing his total incorrect by more than 100% (15 to 7). His score went up 60 points on the May exam when he improved much less. It makes no sense. Does anybody know??
There is a curve. Your son is moving up the curve. And the curve can be different for each test. With more test prep materials available with each new SAT sitting, it makes sense that the curve gets tougher.
Supposedly the curve is not affected by other test takers in the same sitting, but instead by the difficulty of each question. So that means that CB thinks the June SAT was easier, and penalized more for each question.
Also, @beatdown, it depends on the section of each one wrong. Grammar is super harsh, I believe 1 wrong on that and it affects the total score by 200 points. Math is more forgiving, I think.
I honestly thought the June SAT was pretty easy, so I’m not suprised to see such a harsh curve. For instance, I got 15 wrong (-3 grammar, -6 reading, -6 math) and got a 1420, 70 points lower than you sons’s May SAT score for the same number of questions wrong.
I don’t understand why the CB is making the tests so easy. It’s unfair to kids at the top end of the scale to be penalized so much for 1 or 2 questions. The ACT is a superior test and I will not be giving the CB any more of my money.
@beatdown Also, 1520 is a great score so if I were your son, I would be happy with that performance and now focus on other parts of his application.
I took the June SAT and it was honestly a lot easier than any of the practice tests I took. The math section was very straightforward. Therefore, I agree with others in that the June curve was harsher simply because it was easier.
@suzyQ7 if the content was easier why would you think that it is unfair for top end kids?
“I don’t understand why the CB is making the tests so easy. It’s unfair to kids at the top end of the scale to be penalized so much for 1 or 2 questions.”
@suzyQ7 , Easy answer: Dumb down the test so that even the average students will feel superior and get suckered into taking the SAT (and paying the fees) many more times. Many will sign up for the SAT fall tests just because they will think it will be easy again.
It’s unfair because 1 or 2 wrong (stupid mistakes) brings the total score down substantially. It does not really differentiate between the students at the top. If the test was difficult, the really strong students would have a very high score (1500+), and the "average strong " student would score in the 1300-1400 range. The difference between these 2 levels would be many wrong answers. Now the difference is much less. A small handful of wrong answers hit you really hard now.
My son scored a 1360 on the new SAT from June 2016. The report indicates that he scored in the 95th percentile however, when I use the conversion calculator on collegeboard to the old SAT, it says that he would have scored a 1920 on the old version (or a 1300 on the old test if it were on a 1600 point scale CR+M only). These converted scores indicate that he would have scored in the 89th percentile from 2015. This is concerning because one of the schools he is interested in has changed from a 1360 out of 1600 on the old version to a 1420 on the new version to qualify for certain scholarships. I suspect another will change from a 1330 to a 1390 if the same holds true. Am I missing something? Is the conversion tool flawed?
@suzyQ7 - The ACT is not doing much better in this area. The kids that took the June test had a harsh curve because the test was “easy”??? Kids missed 1 question on the reading and were dropped down to a 34-- so no chance to get a 35 at all and a 36 was reserved for perfect scorers only. It was the exact same for science – miss just one question (a stupid mistake or one concept that was confused) and they were a 34. The ACT has had a mess with the essay as well and after a recent switch in format – is switching again for the September tests going forward - they can’t get it right either. I am not sure if the ACT is superior – they are both playing games with the class of 2017 -it is as if anything goes for this group of kids 