<p>Hey guys.</p>
<p>This is really bothering me. I have the Official SAT Guide and the chart conversions give a range rather than a specific number. So, apparently there is some sort of curve thing that determines your actual mark which differs from test to test. So, my question is what determines this curve and what you get. I have heard it is the difficulty of the test but how would they 'measure that' The only way i can think of is how everyone did. Anyway, could someone please explain how this bell curve or whatever curve thing works. Does it mean that in some tests you are bound to get a lower score or what? Really confused right now. Thanks... O and does the same apply for Subject tests also?? Thanks</p>
<p>Hey guys.</p>
<p>This is really bothering me. I have the Official SAT Guide and the chart conversions give a range rather than a specific number. So, apparently there is some sort of curve thing that determines your actual mark which differs from test to test. So, my question is what determines this curve and what you get. I have heard it is the difficulty of the test but how would they ‘measure that’ The only way i can think of is how everyone did. Anyway, could someone please explain how this bell curve or whatever curve thing works. Does it mean that in some tests you are bound to get a lower score or what? Really confused right now. Thanks… O and does the same apply for Subject tests also?? Thanks</p>
<p>From the SAT website:</p>
<p>[SAT</a> FAQ](<a href=“Help Center: Students – SAT Suite | College Board”>Help Center: Students – SAT Suite | College Board)</p>
<p>"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>Yes, they do this for Subject tests too.</p>
<p>so, how do they determine what test is harder than another. It seems really hard to do that… does that depend on how people do or are the equating put into place before the test is even taken.</p>
<p>It happens after, based on how people do. This is really nothing to be worried about, particularly since there’s nothing you can do about it. It is simply a statistical process that they use so that test scores are consistent due to the impossibility of making tests that are exactly the same in difficulty.</p>
<p>The difficulty of a test is determined with the use to standard questions that have appeared on other tests. They don’t compare individual scores, but instead compare scores on those questions. So if one person may have gotten 20/20 of those questions right, but did horrible on the rest or the test, then they know the test was harder than the others.</p>
<p>Dude…you posted the same exact thread less than half an hour later…?</p>