Why do people keep saying SAT curve is determine before the test?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Part of curve is determine before the test. But also part of the curve is based on the performance of the test takers as well.</p>

2

<p>Do you have any evidence to support your claim?</p>

3

<p>I believe that the tenth section of the SAT is used to calibrate the test so that it is consistent with previous years. That is pretty strong evidence that the curve is determined after the exam has been taken.</p>

4

<p>Scaling is done to make sure that the same percentage of people on each test receive the same score to maintain consistency between SAT tests. This process of taking a raw score and computing the equivalant scaled score based on all students' performance on that test is what makes the SAT a standardized test.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.prepme.com/SAT/sat.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.prepme.com/SAT/sat.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>I'm really not sure that's true.
otherwise it wouldn't be technically a standardized test.</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
Why do people keep saying SAT curve is determine before the test?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>because it is.</p>

7

<p>That really makes it standardized, otherwise it's affected by whether you're taking the test with a particularly smarter r well prepared pool of applicants in relation to other testings.</p>

8

<p>One more time:</p>

<p>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.</p>

9

<p>ditto BigIS</p>