SAT Harder or Easier Today Than In Your Day?

bovertine
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:56:24 +0000

I find it interesting that the top math scores would have actually been higher before recentering. D scored a 1480 with a 790 V/R and a 690 Math before recentering it would have been a 1420, 720V/700M. Interesting.



You can’t really compare old test scores to new test scores merely using re-centering. Re-centering is almost twenty years old and was a rough cut valid at that time, today not so much. There are many other factors that come into play today, including more kids taking the test and scoring very highly for various reasons. A 700 (or a 690) was more elusive pre-recentering than it is now.

If you look at the statistics comparing 1973 and 2012 (I happen to have both Total Group reports), in 1973 around 35,000 students scored 700 or over in Math. In 2012 it was around 118,000 students. In 1973 a score of 700 put you around the 97th percentile, today it’s around the 93rd percentile. A 690 is the 92nd percentile today. Impressive still, but not really the same.