@InfiniteWaves I was reading another forum and apparently the curves for June were unheard-of brutal (math -1 = 770, -3 = 720, for example). I don’t understand what College Board was doing with the June test - there were a number of different forms (as kind of expected, forms which may show up as majority versions in the fall) but most of them were noticeably easier than August 17 to May 18. When I read that at the time I thought they’d be simply correcting for the hard reading sections, but maybe their curves overcorrect for the level of easy-ness on all sections. And there were some questions that CB had to pull.
The dramatic difference in curves for the June test compared to earlier New tests is downright disturbing in my opinion. Too much variation in difficulty.
@evergreen5 those curve numbers obviously suggest that CB thought math was very easy on the test. I’ve read a few posts now where kids got about the same score on this test and an earlier SAT so maybe the curve isn’t as off as if seems?
^While I don’t always pay attention to these sorts of things, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen curves this bad for either section. I just saw -5 math = 690. It was 750 for the most part last fall.
Thinking out loud, there were a lot of experimental forms. Suppose CB was anchoring these forms to older tests and didn’t consider that Student X would expect improvement? That can’t be it… Maybe it was simply too easy, but I feel for the kids who took it.
@me29034 My S19 also dropped by exactly 70 points! And he was at non-CC standard decent level on the PSAT. The hope was that perhaps the math might come up just a bit and he’d be in solid shape along with his GPA. Was not expecting such a big drop.
When the curve is so harsh, the test is harder for everyone. Even if the questions were “easier” than other tests, it’s still hard to get so few wrong on a standardized test where kids feel the pressure. Ugh.
I just saw a post from some kid who got two more questions wrong total across all sections, compared to a previous test, and dropped from a 1500 to a 1390.
This is probably why so many kids around here took the ACT. Still seems more of a known thing. Our D21 knows lots of D20s and they are all planning on taking the ACT. I wonder if CB will come out with any sort of stattement about this test.
Wow @evergreen5 that score variation is ridiculous. I wonder if that student miscalculated the number of questions missed when he compared his two tests. That type of drop for missing only two more questions seems very odd.
@dfbdfb thanks for the bullet point tip and big congrats on your D’s 1st acceptance!!
@InfiniteWaves bummer about the SAT score, but sometimes certain test dates are harder than tests taken on other dates. So definitely try again. Super scoring could help in this case, so don’t despair. If your kid is up for it, try the ACT. My older kid did better on the ACT, but son19 does not like the pacing of the ACT. Your son has plenty of time to retake the SAT and can try the ACT a few times.
He has a long time before he actually needs to apply, especially RD round. He’ll do fine, probably just anxious the first time taking it. Maybe with some practice and review of the questions he missed he can raise his score to where you think he needs to be. And test scores aren’t everything anyways.
@InfiniteWaves So sorry. That is very stressful, especially when you have put time into developing a list and getting an idea of where you S wants to go. I would have him try the ACT. Without prep for either, my D did a good bit better on the ACT than the SAT.
I just hopped over to Reddit and the kids are discussing the brutal curve for June SAT, and it looks like that student that @evergreen5 remarked about did not miscalculate. That is just crazy and unfair, in my opinion. Many times, especially in math, kids know how to solve the problems that they miss, but just make careless mistakes. Making a test too easy hurts everyone.
I would think these results will cause more students to focus on the ACT.
@ninakatarina and @carolinamom2boys I think the other Iowa acceptance was from someone posting on the other 2019 thread who doesn’t post on this one. Could be wrong though.
@shuttlebus yeah. Being able to get the answers correct under pressure is a thing and needs to be practiced. Kids really shouldn’t be making too many errors on concepts they know by the time they take these tests. It still stinks that this curve is so different. The percentiles must match the other tests though.
^Yep, the percentiles had to match, and maybe it was just too easy. I’m always skeptical of College Board, but there just shouldn’t be this much variation in difficulty for a standardized test. Reddit notes that a few questions were pulled by College Board - I wonder what that does to the curves.
My D’s SAT is a whopping 10 points higher than her previous high score. She felt that she did well on this one, especially the math, which is not her favorite. I don’t know if she’ll want to take it again since that is her third try.
For those dealing with this crazy SAT sitting, consider trying the ACT. S19 did a whole 30 minutes of prep (after I complained about buying a 20.00 book that he hadn’t cracked open… and his ACT score was higher than his equivalent SAT score by a few notches. ACT threw him into another category of automatic merit, even. The format is definitely different, so it may suit some students better than others, but it’s worth a try on some practice tests.