1560 in 1988 
@marvin100 You must be an absolute genius!
Given that average test scores were steady or decreased every year for the previous 10+ years, averaging 2 points down per year, and have deceased by a point per year since, I would find it hard to believe the HS students suddenly got 64 points smarter in one and only one year that just happened to coincide with a new test format. (New M+EBRW vs. old M+avg(2 reading/writing sections)).
They werenāt āre-centeredā as that means making a statistical adjustment to the same test. You canāt do that with a changed test scoring range (2400 vs 1600). But when they changed the test they changed the alignment of percentiles to section scores.
I agree with the fact that the higher scores donāt mean that students are becoming smarter. If the test is easier, though, the SAT will cease to become useful for college admissions, which will then spread to the AP and SAT Subject Tests. Interestingly, the general distribution generally has remained the same despite College Boardās profuse attempts to revamp the SAT. A 1500 surprisingly has demarcated the top 1% from the bottom 99% for the past 18 years! Do you see another redesign of the SAT in the near future, and do you think that it will be made easier than the current version?