SAT scores fall modestly in a year of transition for college admission test
Katerina Maylock, with Capitals Educators, points on a student ' s worksheet as she teaches a test preparation class at Holton Arms School on Jan. 17, 2016 in Bethesda, Md.( Alex Brandon / AP)
By Nick Anderson September 27 SAT scores fell modestly this year for the last high school class to take the old version of the college admission test.
The average total score for graduating students who took the old SAT at least once through January was 1484, out of a maximum score of 2400, the College Board reported Tuesday. That was 12 points lower than the national average for the previous class in a comparable period. The total drop included declines of three points on the critical reading section of the test, four points in math and five points in writing.
Average combined scores this year were 1285 for the District of Columbia, 1456 for Maryland and 1535 for Virginia— all for students in the Class of 2016 who took the old test. But there were no comparable scores for states and the District for the previous class.
The results were muddied this year because the old test was retired after it was given in January, in the middle of the school year. Scores on the old test had been trending downward, and the latest results appeared to continue that pattern. Scores released in 2015 were the lowest in a decade, fueling worries about high school reform. The new version debuted in March, with an overhauled format and maximum score of 1600. The College Board jettisoned much of the old test’ s arcane vocabulary questions, dropped the penalty for guessing and made the essay optional. [ As SAT enters new era, some students say exam has improved ] The midyear transition, the first in more than a decade, left many students puzzling over whether to take the old SAT, the new SAT or the rival ACT. That flux affected who took the old test and, in turn, influenced the results. Scores for the new version will not be reported until after this year’ s high school seniors have graduated.
“ We’ re in a peculiar state this year,” College Board President David Coleman said in a media conference call. With partial data for old and new tests, he said,“ the bottom line is we’ re caught in between.”
[ Meet the man behind the new SAT:‘ I’ m in the anxiety field.’] For the College Board, perhaps the most important numbers from Tuesday’ s report were the participation totals for a year of uncertainty as the new test was rolled out. The totals were up slightly, officials said:
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