3andme Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 It looks like the long-awaited June SAT results have been released and the students are not happy. Apparently, the SAT test was unusually easy and the resulting curve has been brutal. 1 question wrong on the Math results in a 770. Some students have launched an appeal to get the College Board to rescale the scores (#RescoreJuneSat). Good luck with that. This reddit/sat thread provides insight into the reactions to the recent test among highly motivated students. It does seem like the College Board makes a lot more misteps than the ACT organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 Here's a blog post from Princeton Review explaining the June scoring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Pretty sure this bit my son in the butt, especially since on practice tests he seems to make mistakes and this time around they were all in "heart of algebra." Really, algebra? Didn't get a single one wrong in advanced math and he will probably make a mistake or 3 or 4 regardless of test difficulty. So now we get to shell out more money since he was looking at a school with automatic merit. I wish they would just make the tests more difficult period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Our close family friend worked so hard and all the gains were erased by this mah curve. He is devastated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 CollegeBoard posted this an hour ago on Facebook and Inside Higher Ed quoted them 8 hrs ago. “The College Board released the email message it has been sending to those students who have been complaining. "We understand your questions about your June SAT scores," the message says. "We want to assure you that your scores are accurate. While we plan for consistency across administrations, on occasion there are some tests that can be easier or more difficult than usual. That is why we use a statistical process called 'equating.' Equating makes sure that a score for a test taken on one date is equivalent to a score from another date. So, for example, a single incorrect answer on one administration could equal two or three incorrect answers on a more difficult version. The equating process ensures fairness for all students."” https://www.facebook.com/thecollegeboard/photos/a.556047474410397.146659.515989801749498/2187183517963443/?type=3 https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/12/surprisingly-low-scores-mathematics-sat-stun-and-anger-students Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Yes, rescoring would be silly. They can't score an easy test the same as a hard test. A lot of students in the reddit thread don't realize that the reason they got half as many wrong in this test versus another test was because it was easier. I do think that my son is bound to make some mistakes though but they won't really equate to the test being hard or easy strangely enough and having a few mistakes from going too fast will cost you more on an easy test so for him it's retake and hope for a more difficult test and try to learn to be more thorough and careful. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I remember DD saying that lots of kids came out of the May SAT complaining how hard the English half was (can't remember if it was the Reading or the Writing/Language portion), but that means it could have translated to a better curve. (I don't know if it did or not.) Obviously, an easier test means a harder curve. The rising seniors have enough time for one more retake in August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstharr Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Well, the new 13 y.o walked out of the test saying math was so easy. He predicted that he missed two questions. No way was I going to believe that. But, he has had so much testing experience that he should be a reasonable estimator. He missed 5 for 690. -5 over the last two years ranged from 720 to 760. So, if a 12 y.o (at the time), only half way through precalc thought it was easy, it probably was. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 And they had 2 fewer English qiestions on each section which made the curve harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alewife Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 3 hours ago, Roadrunner said: And they had 2 fewer English qiestions on each section which made the curve harder. I can understand the difference in curves...the old SAT had those too. One test my yield a 760 for missing one question on the Math section, while on another test, one wrong might be a 790. What I can't understand is how the CB could release an exam that had 4 questions that needed to be eliminated. Makes we wonder what type of quality control policies the CB has? How was this exam ever approved? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I still think that attempting to keep the exam at a certain difficulty is a good thing. A child who misses half of what he missed before but the score is worse just doesn’t sit right. It’s very discouraging to kids even if the CB explanation makes logical sense. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 IMO, it was just a matter of time before this happened since the major redesign. One of the key criticisms was that it was harder to distinguish top performers from the next tier. The test writers have been trying to make the SAT more discerning and it seems like they have to throw out a question each time ( the PSAT has sometimes had two tossed). It looks like they swung too far to the easy side. The College Board took a long time to score this one- and knew they would since the score release date was set out so far. Was this a whole new set of questions?? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 5 minutes ago, RootAnn said: IMO, it was just a matter of time before this happened since the major redesign. One of the key criticisms was that it was harder to distinguish top performers from the next tier. The test writers have been trying to make the SAT more discerning and it seems like they have to throw out a question each time ( the PSAT has sometimes had two tossed). It looks like they swung too far to the easy side. The College Board took a long time to score this one- and knew they would since the score release date was set out so far. Was this a whole new set of questions?? They aren’t helping themselves. Even more kids are going to run to ACT. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alewife Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 10 hours ago, Roadrunner said: They aren’t helping themselves. Even more kids are going to run to ACT. Yes, but with the ACT you have to worry that if you have a big score improvement from your prior attempt or a poor performance compared to an earlier attempt that you will be notified months after you have taken the test, and months after you have been accepted to college with merit aid based on your ACT score, that your score is being cancelled because the ACT thinks you cheated. This was posted on CC yesterday in a thread that has over 22 pages of similar stories from other families: "I am looking for help please my son took his first ACT in Feb 2017 he received a 32 so when his high school told me that they were offering on in March 2017 I called his guidance counselor and tried to opt him out since he did so well in Feb. The school told me sorry it was a requirement at his high school for graduation that he has to take that one. He literally went in filled in bubbles and left by doing this he got a 14. It's 2018 July and we just got a letter about the cheating. He already graduated and leaves for college in 20 days . I've paid the tuition at his college and he has received schlorships already. It's summer and no one is at his school to talk to what evidence can I get to send in at this point . Why the hell wouldn't they have said something before he graduated and applyed to college and got excepted ? Help please this will ruin his future" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Yes, the ACT is absolutely terrifying. Can't they understand that kids STUDY and IMPROVE or that they have less test anxiety the second time around. It is absolutely heartbreaking what they do to kids who greatly improve their scores. Their lives literally start unraveling and they have to pick up the pieces. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 This did not impact us, but I am watching the situation. I suspect that we will see more careening about by the College Board trying to fix a test that they broke. Unfortunately, we're kind of tied to the PSAT/SAT because we're chasing NM money. Here's another article on the situation: https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/12/surprisingly-low-scores-mathematics-sat-stun-and-anger-students 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence1978 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 This is really interesting and I'm curious to see the outcome. My son took his first SAT in March and got a 1240 with a 660 on the math portion. Since then, he worked really hard studying and took the June test. He ended up with a 1360 and 750 on the math test. He said the math test was really easy and that he thinks he got all the no-calculator section problems correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alewife Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 50 minutes ago, JoJosMom said: This did not impact us, but I am watching the situation. I suspect that we will see more careening about by the College Board trying to fix a test that they broke. Unfortunately, we're kind of tied to the PSAT/SAT because we're chasing NM money. Here's another article on the situation: https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/12/surprisingly-low-scores-mathematics-sat-stun-and-anger-students This didn't impact us either, and my family, thankfully is done with the SAT, but I feel terrible for the kids who took the June test with the version that had 4 questions un-scorable. I wonder if the College Board will decide that they shouldn't be writing these tests in-house and will rehire ETS to develop the tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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