SAT scores fall modestly in a year of transition
for college admission test
(continued from previous page)
● Nearly 1.36 million students took the new SAT from March through June, compared with
1.18 million who took the old test during the same period in 2015.
● More than 458,000 students took the SAT during a school day in the 2015-2016 school year, up
from 219,500 the year before.
D.C. public school students are among those who can take the SAT during a school day instead of on a
Saturday. Those in Maryland and Virginia are not. The school-day program, echoing similar efforts by
the ACT, fundamentally changes participation and scores because it makes the testing free for students
and enables a state or school system to offer the test to its entire class.
When more students are tested, scores generally go down. Students who come from lower-income
families tend to get lower scores than those who are more affluent.
But the College Board and the ACT think that widespread testing also encourages more students to go
to college who otherwise might not.
The SAT, launched in 1926, was for generations the most widely used standardized admission test. But
it fell behind the ACT in 2012. The Iowa-based ACT, first given in 1959, tests students in reading,
English, math and science, with an optional essay. About 2.1 million took the ACT in the Class of 2016.
[ACT scores show a smaller share of students are ‘college-ready’]
In years past, the SAT was described as a test of aptitude, aiming to gauge students’ natural potential.
Not anymore. The new SAT, like the ACT, is billed as a test of achievement that tracks the school
curriculum.
Colleges accept scores from either test. A growing number do not require applicants to submit
admission test scores, but most selective schools still do.
The SAT has long been more widely used in the Washington area, but the ACT has made inroads in the
region.
● In the District, 4,790 in the Class of 2016 took the old SAT at least once through January; 1,692
took the ACT before graduation.
● In Maryland, 47,449 took the old SAT at least once; 16,769 took the ACT.
● In Virginia, 57,861 took the old SAT at least once; 25,866 took the ACT.
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