October curve more generous than other months?

[cliff_hanger]

<p>Rumor has it that the October SAT is always easier, in terms of curve, than the other SATs. is this true?</p>

[illuminar]

<p>I was told (although I can’t substantiate this, and really believe it) that the October SAT is the worst because most people who take it have been studying over the summer.</p>

[amb3r]

<p>I was told the October SAT is easiest to score high on, like cliff said.. not sure of the truth in this…</p>

[jbarbour11]

<p>i hope the CR section is easier</p>

[Duper]

<p>No. 10char</p>

[andreaaaaaa]

<p>okay, this was asked only yesterday. the answer is still the same…</p>

<p>

@College Board

Are some SAT tests more difficult than other ones?</p>

<p>All editions of the SAT are developed using the same test specifications. Even if there are tiny differences in difficulty from test to test, a statistical process called “equating” ensures that a score for a test taken on one date or at one place is equivalent to a score for a test taken on another date or in another place. The rumors that the SAT in one month, say in October, is easier, are false.

</p>

<p>and the curve is preset. so the strength of the students taking the test has nothing to do with the curve.</p>

[Pgillon8908]

<p>The curve isn’t easier. The curve is set before anyone takes the test. The only reason it seems like the curve is better is because people do study over the summer so their scores are generally better than those of the people who take the test at a different date.</p>

[Damaris]

<p>Andreaaaa’s quote is not proof that the curve is preset. It is only proof that that results from the test will be forced into a curve through a process called equating. But what if the test-taking population is different from test to test? Maybe smart students take the SAT in March because they will take SAT Subject Tests in the spring, but dumb kids take the SAT in November and December because they didn’t get their act together before then.</p>

[sciencenerd]

<p>SAT curve in October 2007 was terrible!!!
In math I know people who only got a few wrong and got low scores. For example I got 3 wrong and 2 Omit and a 680!!! What???
The others might have been okay.</p>

[iin77]

<p>I heard that if you’re smart, it doesn’t matter what the curve is. And I’ve also heard that speculating about the curve means you’re an idiot. Can anyone confirm this?</p>

[danielcarp17]

<p>Jajajaja … nice one</p>

[Duper]

<p>The April exam is RIDICULOUS. The curve is like -8 CR = 800, -5 Math = 800.</p>

<p>(…there isn’t an April exam, sorry )</p>

[tunit2190]

<p>personally, i feel that the oct curve was pretty harsh b/c most of the kids who wanted to ED took it then, after preparing for the whole summer. HOPEFULLY. november curve is better cuz ppl who take it then will be mainly…some incoming juniors and some juniors…? maybe?</p>

[cookie4you]

<p>does anyone know what the december curve will be like? im scared…i feel like i should’ve taken the sats a different date. oh and how baout the january curve?</p>

[alej414]

<p>curves are preset? i guess you have no idea what standardizing means then.</p>

<p>in general, supposedly curves are harder in january and march since relatively few people take the SAT in these months - mainly those juniors who have prepared hard and are ready early on. i don’t really believe it’s based on the month, though. more like if the test was hard or not since they have to standardize the scores to be at or around the mean for each section.</p>

[alpha2400]

<p>

I heard that if you’re smart, it doesn’t matter what the curve is. And I’ve also heard that speculating about the curve means you’re an idiot. Can anyone confirm this?

</p>

<p>You know, that makes sense. I mean, what a radical concept – people will get the scores that they’re capable of regardless of the scoring curve. BRILLIANT! :)</p>

[Damaris]

<p>Unless College Board publishes the standard deviations and the mean for each test, we will never know the truth. College Board only publishes these stats on a yearly basis.</p>

[gcf101]

<p>Nothing is more persistent than uninformed opinions.
This is very true in regard to the “you are better off taking Oct/Dec/Jan/etc. SAT”-question.</p>

<p>I came to rely on xiggi’s and BigIs’s information.
Could it be just my opinion?:)</p>

<p>

@xiggi

The reality is that the test is not graded (of course) nor curved to scores of the people who took THAT particular test. The difficulty of the test and the relevant “curve” are established before the precise administration. In other words, one student could take the test with 1000 monkeys or with the entire admitted class of HYPS and see no difference in his or her score.

From <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/412517-when-start-classes-tests.html?#post4867849[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/412517-when-start-classes-tests.html?#post4867849&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

@BigIs

The questions used on the exam a pretested, providing a difficulty level for each question.</p>

<p>The test is then assembled to a specific average difficulty equivalent to other tests. This is referred to by the un-initiated as “curved in advance”</p>

<p>After the test is given, it is equated, which adjusts for the actual difficulty of the current test compared to previous tests. This is what some people call “curved after the exam.”</p>

<p>The test is never “curved.” To “curve” a test statistically is very different from what most people think or want to happen to their tests.</p>

<p>All the adjustments will hopefully mean that any individual student will have an equal chance of achieving the same scaled score range no matter which test they take and how strong or weak the students are who take the test at the same time.</p>

<p>The fact that a 700 means the same thing no matter which test you take, and students who take the test this year can be compared to previous years, is what is meant by “standardized”</p>

<p>Unless the testing program has can convince the colleges that the scoring is consistent, accurate and fair the colleges won’t use it at part of their admissions package.

From <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/299365-why-do-people-keep-saying-sat-curve-determine-before-test.html?#post3596412[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/299365-why-do-people-keep-saying-sat-curve-determine-before-test.html?#post3596412&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

[Damaris]

<p>What do you think equating is? It’s fine-tuning the curve! If a bunch of smart students take the test, College Board will think the test is easier than anticipated and equate scores so that the curve seems harsher. A 700 on one test may not be equal to a 700 on another test if the test population differs significantly. For that matter, why do you think College Board doesn’t publish standard deviations for individual test sittings? Maybe they don’t want people to know that there are differences.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>I think everyone reading this thread should read this: </p>

<p>“Ensuring Comparable Scores on the SAT I: Reasoning Test” </p>

<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;