<p>Always wondered this. Is it true that back when calculators were not widely available that the SATs were more difficult and getting a high score was far more difficult than it is now? I remember that the SATs where once used to measure admission into Mensa (anything about a 1400 meant you were in). They are no longer used for admission to Mensa, because SAT scores can be improved upon (I got a 1440 first sitting which then went up after studying) and actual IQ is not supposed to. </p>
<p>Also when did they change it so that it is no longer possible to get scores with multiples of 5. eg. Al Gore got a 1355, 730 math 625 verbal?</p>
<p>I think that test prep was not a major industry, and that while people certainly scored well, there was less emphasis on standardized tests several decades ago.</p>
<p>A while ago,
[quote]
the College Board--decided to "recenter" the scores by arbitrarily declaring that the 1990 scores on both the verbal and mathematical portions of the test would serve as the new average. The fairly robust math score of 475 was transformed overnight to a 500, and the anemic verbal score of 424 also was lifted to 500. With the stroke of a pen, extremely poor performance on the verbal portion of the test was turned into the new norm.
By Diane Ravitch, New York Times on August 28, 1996
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Most of the recentering focused on the verbal scores. My verbal was 670 back then (1978-79), and based on recentering, it would now be 740 (yeah analogies!). My math didn't change at all (630). My high school didn't offer any math beyond pre-calc, and then only for seniors. I was good at math, but just didn't get eoungh of it. I had a perfect score on the Test of Standard Written English, and with the essay component now, I would probably come close to maxing that out.</p>
<p>I have an ancient SAT prep book (Barron's, I believe -- I'd have to dig it out of the basement). It was utterly brutal. My strength was verbal and that book would make me cry.</p>
<p>The test changed in 1995. Previously, the test wasn't curved and only a few people (maybe 4) got perfect scores each year. So the test was a bit harder. After the recentering, the average score on the SAT rose and there are now hundreds of perfect scorers each year since the test is curved. </p>
<p>As for Mensa, the cutoff for Mensa prior to recentering was a 1250/1600. This unrecentered score equates to a 130 IQ, the cutoff for Mensa. If you are curious about what your IQ would be accoring to the SAT, here are a couple of links:</p>
<p>Unrecentered SAT to IQ:</p>
<p><a href="http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/oldSATIQ.html%5B/url%5D">http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/oldSATIQ.html</a></p>
<p>Recentered SAT (SAT I) to IQ:</p>
<p><a href="http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/SATIQ.html%5B/url%5D">http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/SATIQ.html</a></p>
<p>For both of these charts, the 15 SD IQ is the one to look at. If you took the new 2400 SAT like me, just take your M + CR score and look for it on the chart.</p>