<p>Ok, so the College Board messed up. For me, they were 110 points off. 110 points!!!! That is messing up BIG TIME. I was depressed after I got my scores back, and I did not apply to two colleges because my scores were low - 70 points off in math. The College Board discovered this problem in December, and they inform us now? When colleges have already made their financial aid decisions and scholarships have already turned us down? The question is not what caused the problem, the question is what are we going to do about it? Should we just accept the fact that the College Board messed up one of the most important tests of our lives? Should we just accept the fact that we find out now when many colleges have already printed their decision letters? My opinion is that the College Board should provide some financial assistance for those whose tests they messed up by a large margin - maybe 100 points or more. Or, for the tests on which all three sections were marked wrong. Opinions?</p>
<p>If the answer sheets were wet enough, I suppose they could been deformed going through the readers and that could have skewed answers on a portion of the form. I mean wet, though, not damp from high humidity. The people that load the readers should be aware to the condition of the forms, and manually process suspect answer sheets.</p>
<p>I smell a class-action lawsuit.</p>
<p>Yeah, I definitely remember taking my SAT on a rainy day...since we weren't allowed in the test center until 15 mins before and those without umbrellas were getting soaked.</p>
<p>Maybe I could ETS to regrade my sheet...not that it matters much now. ;)</p>
<p>Nice excuse, I don't buy it. How often have schools in New England had tests during snow storms in the past and we have not seen this problem before . . . though that could just mean that we did not know about it. ;-)</p>
<p>I also thought some of the schools were in CA. Anyone go back and check the weather in all the impacted regions on the day of the test? It just does not sound right to me.</p>
<p>Regardless, it is hard to think of a lamer excuse. It surprises the College Board that it rains in the US in October?</p>
<p>How many tests have been mis-scored in other years?</p>
<p>This is just a lame excuse.....</p>
<p>If the sheet were to expand....then entire sheet will expand .... not the part were you mark your answers....</p>
<p>I mean...in the first page of the answer sheet..you even mark your Name, registration number etc.....so if the sheets were to expand significantly ...even they could have been misinterpreted......But if that didnt happen....we can be sure that the answers weren't changed either!!!</p>
<p>shaking head, over and over....</p>
<p>Now I've heard it all....next thing you know, everyone will have to take the test via computer...oh, but then, that would create another group of problems...still shaking head...</p>
<p>Yeah, when WILL they convert it to a computerized test? Hey, they're doing it for the MCAT, why not the SAT?</p>
<p>GMAT is computerized
TOEFL is computerized
TOEIC is computerized (I think)
MCAT will be computerized
LSAT is not computerized
SAT is not computerized</p>
<p>Seems like a trend that they'll start computerizing everything.</p>
<p>Just imagine if all this didn't come out until after everyone had enrolled in their colleges. Then we would have had some REALLY angry people.</p>
<p>I mentioned in another thread that our township's ballot-reading machines have problems with high-moisture days, when it comes to reading ballots. So this is credible to me. The 2004 election ended up being a horrible, horrible day to be working my precinct! You'd be surprised the problems a little moisture can cause.</p>
<p>I, personally, would hate it if it were computerized. It's just not the same on a computer screen. Call me a traditionalist, but my thought processes flow much better when it's just me, pen, and paper.</p>
<p>Has anyone received their snail mail confirmation of the score change?</p>
<p>New York Times</p>
<p>Tuesday, March 14, 2006</p>
<p>1,600 SAT Tests Escaped Check for Scoring Errors</p>
<p>By Karen W. Arenson</p>
<p>The College Board disclosed a new problem yesterday in its efforts to assess and correct mistakes in the scoring of its October SAT test: an overlooked batch of 1,600 exams that have not been checked for errors.</p>
<p>The admission that there were still unchecked tests came a week after the board began notifying colleges that it was raising the SAT scores of 4,000 students whose tests had been graded incorrectly because of processing problems at a Texas scanning facility. </p>
<p>The revelation meant that colleges were likely to face a second scramble to reassess additional applicants just as the admissions season was drawing to a close.</p>
<p>my D recieved the snailmail confirmation of her rechecked scores yesterday. Also confirmation that they'd been sent to all the schools she'd applied to, includingthe school she'd been rejected from ED. What a mess!</p>
<p>USNEWS: Quote: I knew my SAT score was too low!
First, you take the highest-pressure standardized test you'll probably ever have to take. Then you find out the computer scored the answers incorrectly. Your overall score was lower than it should have been-and was automatically sent to your top-choice colleges.</p>
<p>That's the nightmare facing some of the 500,000 students who took the College Board's SAT exam last October. "Snafu is the perfect word," says John Katzman, CEO of Princeton Review. The glitch was discovered in December when two students, suspecting their scores were erroneous, alerted the board. After a three-month investigation, the board made public the systematic errors and E-mailed approximately 4,000 inaccurately scored students (they'll also receive a refund for the cost of the exam and fees associated with sending scores). If you haven't yet heard, you're most likely not one of the unlucky 4,000.</p>
<p>The testing company has notified colleges as well, providing corrected scores and asking the schools to review the files of the wronged applicants. The Board says that 600 students received scores that are artificially high as well, but that neither the colleges nor the students will ever be notified.</p>
<p>According to Brian O'Reilly, executive director of SAT information and services at the board, the breakdown looks like this: Of the 4,000 students with incorrect scores-83 percent had a change between 10 and 40 points on a 2400 point scale. Twelve percent had scores off by 50 to 90 points, and 5 percent had scores lower by more than 100 points. Most of the 600 students with inflated scores received credit for fewer than 100 additional points.</p>
<p>Colleges still have time to deal with the fallout. Vu Tran, head of admissions at the University of California-Los Angeles, says his office was notified that 39 of the more than 47,234 applicants had been issued incorrect scores. Of those students, one had been denied admission. Based on the updated scores, the student will be offered a place in next year's freshman class. "It was not a major problem because our acceptance letters will not be mailed out until later this month," Tran says.</p>
<p>At the University of Pennsylvania, Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson says his office is still reviewing 103 students who were given false scores. "If there is a 10-point change," he says, "it probably won't make that much difference because we consider many, many factors." Penn sends out letters of acceptance and rejection on March 30.</p>
<p>O'Reilly, of the College Board, reassures the wronged students that no further action is needed. "Other than knowing that their score was wrong and the magnitude of that score change," he explains, "there is not much that students can do."</p>
<p>Others disagree. "If I were one of the students notified about an incorrect score," says Katzman of Princeton Review, "I would send a letter explaining the situation to every college to which I applied just to make sure." Incorrectly scored students should make sure their high school transcript reflects the correct score (some colleges read SAT scores directly from the transcript). They should also notify merit-based scholarships or aid offices where they applied.</p>
<p>Any student suffering from score anxiety can contact the College Board at (866) 387-2594 or go to collegeboard.com. Future test takers who receive scores they believe may be in error can have a human pair of eyes review their test for a $50 fee, a service students can request after receiving their scores.</p>
<p>If scores were off by as much as 100 points, it could have been the deciding factor regarding whether a student chose to apply to a certain college or not.</p>
<p>Mistakes do happen, we all know that, but the time it took for collegeboard to respond is simply not acceptable.</p>
<p>wow... this is pretty horrible. I think to ameliorate the situation, collegeboard can just give 800's all around and throw in some refunds of registration fees. oh.. and some extra deposits towards any other possible collegeboard-related tests in the future.</p>
<p>The College Board should definitely do more than just refund the check for the students who were really affected. While the publicity may make the College Board seem bad, it will actually be helpful for it in the long-term. Universities still rely heavily on standardized testing, so college-bound students will continue be forced to take a test. For many eastern U.S. students, the ACT is not as convenient as the SAT in terms of accessibility. Plus the SAT and SAT preparation is stressed a lot more. Ok, so now every future SAT test-taker is going to pay $50 because trust is lost in the College Board for this "one-time" anomaly. Thus, the College Board makes a greater profit. Got to love economics, but also, something has got to be done. I propose SCHOLARSHIPS. I made major decisions pertaining to college based on that October SAT, and five months later I find out I actually get 110 points greater than I originally thought. Forty some odd dollars back is not going to cut it. The College not only needs to be reliable for future students, but it needs to help out the students that it greatly hurt.</p>