<p>I'm taking the physics subject exam in June, and I was wondering what the curve for an 800 is? On the college board practice tests I took, it seems like you can have a raw score of 59 and still make a perfect score. Is that really accurate?</p>
<p>I guess no one knows? :/</p>
<p>In my official book, 59 was indeed the cutoff. I doubt it has changed much.</p>
<p>Ok that’s a relief. Thanks!</p>
<p>college board practice tests = official book</p>
<p>it’s not much of a relief if you two are relying on the same source
sorry to burst your bubble charlotte123</p>
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<p>But the source is the College Board.</p>
<p>I have kaplan and the cutoff they give is 63…so somewhere in the general area im guessing?</p>
<p>@silverturtle
i find the official books that you are referring to be a bit misleading though
not only are the tests within those books easy, but the curves given within those books are extremely lenient as well</p>
<p>just to be safe, just score 65+ and you’ll get a 800
59 is just way too low even for a difficult exam like the physics test</p>
<p>Does anyone know which review book has the most accurate practice tests for physics SAT II? Is Kaplan decent? CB only has 1 test.</p>
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</p>
<p>They are previously administered tests with actual curves.</p>
<p>@BlizzardPenguin: I don’t think you can tell if the curve is lenient or not, because to the best of my knowledge (Correct me if I’m wrong), they don’t release curves or tests/answers so you can’t tell what the real curve actually is.</p>
<p>“They are previously administered tests with actual curves.” </p>
<p>This is correct. Blizzard, I have no idea what you’re talking about. For the math 1 test I actually did 20 points better on the real test than the ones in the College Board book. The real one was a <em>bit</em> harder, but the curve must have been better because I skipped more than I did in the College Board book and still scored better.</p>
<p>@silverturtle
yes they are previously administered tests, but they are some of the easier tests with some of the more lenient curves
which make the actual test seem easier than they actually are</p>
<p>@mathfreak123
i say they are lenient due to the past experiences of many test takers throughout the years not only on collegeconfidential but also companions of mine
even hard tests seem to have really strict curves as you can see on collegeconfidential. and for “official” tests to have curves that allow you to miss 16+ questions and still get an 800 for an easier test (reference to physics exam) is just ridiculous.</p>
<p>@Yamster
skipping more may actually increase your score due to the guessing penalty. just a thought. with a harder test, it is justified to have a better curve, but not for the level of difficulty presented within the official books. oh and you probably did better not only cause of the guessing penalty, but also because you probably studied (just an assumption based off of the fact that you actually took the time to get a study guide.)</p>
<p>my entire point people is that these books are very misleading.
i suggest you get other books, such as barrons (for math or science oriented exams) or princeton review</p>
<p>ALMOST every test that has a huge curve is kinda hard. I took the SAT Physics a week before the AP Physics exam and got a 570.
Well, I didn’t prepare well for the exam. literally crammed 2 days before. </p>
<p>But I think I did okish on the AP Phyiscs exam (expecting a 3)</p>
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<p>SAT II exams are standardized, meaning a harder test will have an “easier” curve and an easier test will have a “harder” curve, because a score of 700 on one test means you have the knowledge to score (about) 700 on another; the curves are adjusted for test difficulty so that the “score equivalence” (as I put it) is there for all SAT II tests. So, what you posted is incorrect because hard test–>easy curve and vice versa.</p>
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<p>What the hell does this even mean?</p>
<p>FYI I think the physics test in official study guide was administered in Jan 2003</p>
<p>@314159265
okay. i guess what i’m trying to say isn’t coming through.
just use the collegeboard subject test books to study and then go take the test. then based off of the experiences of others in compound with your own experience, determine whether the test you just took was harder or easier and whether the curve of the test seems to match the curve in your book, keeping in mind that “score equivalence” idea.</p>
<p>i feel like there’s no other way to prove it to you guys other than letting you guys see for yourselves.</p>
<p>i stand firm by my argument though. those collegeboard subject tests are misleading and make the test, which you will soon take, seem like they will be easier than they will actually be.</p>
<p>i don’t know how else to explain it 314159265
i apologize if it was/is confusing to you</p>
<p>afaik, the college board uses their real grading system (same curves) in the official guide. It wouldn’t be an official guide if it didn’t use the same curve, eh? And I think they are real tests from before, too.</p>
<p>no they dont. they have different curve for each test you idiot</p>
<p>^ that was very nice of you, idiot.
przgonna//each test may have a slightly adjusted curve due to an aberration in difficulty.</p>