Why your new SAT score is not as strong as you think it is

The Washington Post reports:

Many college-bound students across America are celebrating this week what appear to be impressive results from the revised SAT. But in general the scores are not as strong as they seem at first glance.

It turns out the new test comes with a degree of score inflation. Simply put: a 1300 on the SAT is not worth as much as it used to be.

Figuring out what the new SAT scores mean, and how they compare to old SAT scores or to ACT scores, is likely to be a major source of confusion for students and parents in the next couple of years following the debut in March of a major revision to the nation’s oldest college admissions test.


Charts the College Board released Monday show that for a vast swath of students, new SAT scores are comparable to results that would have been 60 to 80 points lower on corresponding sections of the old SAT.

For instance, if a student earned a score of 1100 on the new SAT, out of a maximum 1600, that would correspond to a score of 1020 on the math and critical reading sections of the old SAT. Same hypothetical student, but two different tests, with an 80-point bump on the newer one.

Dumbed down public schools need an easier test for the participation trophy generation.