SAT Test Changes Fast Facts
THE SAT TEST, A BRIEF HISTORY FROM KAPLAN, INC.
The SAT was introduced in 1926 as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, as an experiment. At that time, it was designed to measure aptitude or innate mental ability.
In the two decades after World War II, the College Board, the test administrator, built the reputation of the test. The nation's largest university, the University of California, used the test in a limited way from the 1940s until the late 1960s. Harvard University used the test in the early days, too, to identify excellent students, and to diversify its student population beyond the wealthy families who traditionally attended the school. In 1946, the first high school junior prepared for the exam at the Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Center. In the 1970s, Kaplan expanded nationwide. The company was sold to The Washington Post Company in 1984. There are now 3,000 Kaplan classrooms around the globe.
The University of California made the test a requirement for admissions in 1967. This decision was made when the system was faced with a flood of applicants and thus the need for an efficient and uniform way to judge them. As a result, the test was quickly adopted as an admission requirement for universities nationwide.
In the 1970s, the test was accused of being inherently biased against African Americans and Latinos. The test is frequently accused of discriminating against women, too.
In 1979, a Federal Trade Commission showed that, contrary to claims by the College Board that the test was "uncoachable," students could improve their test scores through preparation. In response to the FTC findings, New York State introduced "Truth in Testing" laws later that year which required publishers of high stakes exams like the SAT to disclose questions and answers after the tests were given and scored.
The College Board changed the name of the SAT to the Scholastic Assessment Test in 1994, to correct the impression that the SAT measured innate mental ability, and rather tested what students learned or could learn. The Scholastic Assessment Test name was quickly dropped. Today the acronym is the official name of the test.
The number of SAT test takers has increased almost every year since Pearl Harbor. Last year, 44% of high school graduates took the test, up from 41% in 1995. In all, more than 1.3 million students took the SAT in 2001, over 2 million tests were administered.
In 1993 and 1994 the SAT changed for the first time in 20 years. Changes included the elimination of the antonym vocabulary section, an increased emphasis on reading comprehension questions and math problem-solving. Calculator use was also allowed for the first time, as well as student-produced responses.
Both the verbal and math sections are scored on a 200 to 800 point scale. Since the scores were recalibrated in 1995, the number of perfect scores jumped 17-fold, from 32 to 545. A combined score of 1400 today would have been a 1340 before the "recentering".
Not all colleges and universities require the test for admissions. 280 of the nation's 2,083 four-year colleges and universities make the SAT test optional as a requirement for admissions. One such university is Bowdoin, which now encourages home-schoolers to take the test anyway. Another private college, Lafayette, which made the SATs optional in an experiment in 1995, has reinstated the test as a way to gauge students in light of grade inflation. In February of 2001, UC President Richard Atkinson, called for the elimination of the SAT test because, he said, the test content did not reflect what students learned in school. At that time, Dr. Atkinson proposed using the SAT II tests - single subject tests usually taken by elite students - as an interim measure, until a different, or better test than the SAT, could be developed. The University of California is still the biggest customer of the SAT, and the changes expected to be announced by the College Board in June 2002, is partly an attempt to satisfy that customer. Last year, 297,000 tests were administered in California. Texas is the second largest user of the test, 208,000 SAT tests were administered in that state last year.
ABOUT KAPLAN, INC. With 3,000 classroom locations worldwide, Kaplan offers preparation for 35 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college, and graduate school as well as English language and professional licensing exams. Kaplan is the leader in computerized test prep, and also offers private tutoring and college and graduate admissions consulting services. The company has served more than 3 million students over the past 60 years.
Kaptest.com is the largest online provider of test preparation, admissions and guidance products, advice and services.
CHANGES PLANNED TO THE SAT
KAPLAN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS EXPERTS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
On Thursday, June 27, the College Board is holding a meeting to vote on the first significant changes to be made to the SAT in a decade, including the addition of an essay writing section. At that time the organization is widely expected to agree on the proposed changes.
Most significantly, the essay-writing section will be scored on a separate 800 point scale, increasing the possible test total from 1,600 to 2,400. Other expected changes include the elimination of the analogies section and inclusion of tougher math problems. These changes will most likely make the test longer and more expensive.
Kaplan, Inc.’s College Admissions Experts, Trent Anderson, Seppy Basili and Chad Schaedler are available to discuss how these changes will affect the college admissions process. They can discuss:
How these changes will affect the importance of the SAT test in college admissions.
If these changes will make test-taking harder or easier.
How and if students can prepare for a written essay test.
How 2 million written essays can be graded effectively and what those scores will mean to college admissions counselors.
How the proposed changes will impact test preparation.
How the University of California’s concerns about the test are helping to shape these changes.
If these changes will help or prevent the University of California from achieving its diversity goals.
Trent Anderson, Vice President for Publishing and e-Ventures, is a recognized innovator in education, as well as an expert in standardized test preparation and admissions for college and graduate school. In addition to overseeing more than 150 book and software titles, Mr. Anderson is contributing editor to Kaplan’s test preparation and financial aid guides. During his career, Mr. Anderson has worked with thousands of students, helping them with admissions, test prep and financial aid advice to get into and pay for college and graduate school.
Seppy Basili, Vice President, Pre-College Programs, oversees Kaplan’s pre-college business, which includes test preparation for the SAT, ACT and PSAT exams as well as college admissions services. Mr. Basili is the managing editor to Kaplan/Newsweek educational imprints and contributing editor to Kaplan’s books on college admissions. Mr. Basili is a frequent speaker on college admissions and has appeared on NBC’s “Today” show several times.
Chad Schaedler, Executive Director, Pre-College Programs, manages the company’s college admissions and test preparation businesses. He has taught thousands of SAT students in his eight-plus years at the company and has been featured on television nationwide speaking about college admissions and test preparation issues.
SAT FAST FACTS From Kaplan Test Prep
The SAT is one of two major standardized college entrance exams taken in the USA, the other is the ACT. The SAT is no longer an acronym, the name stands on its own.
Test Dates 2002-2003
October, November, December, January, April, May, June
Seasonal Trends
Top Test Dates - rank order
October and May
November and June
December
January, April
Number of test takers in 2001
1.3 million (1,276,320)
2 million tests administered; this reflects the large number of students who take the test more than once
Testing Trends
The number of SAT test takers rose 15% from 1996 and 2001.
About 45% of the high school graduating class of 2001 took the SAT
Test Taker Profile
54% female
46% male
Year in which SAT was taken for the last time
Sophomore 0.6%
Junior 27%
Senior 73%
Regional test distribution 2001 (by state):
State # SAT I takers
California 161,975
New York 134,919
Texas 111,277
Pennsylvania 94,530
Florida 69,363
New Jersey 68,250
Georgia 51,213
Massachusetts 50,997
Virginia 48,765
North Carolina 44,183
Indiana 39,202
Maryland 37,698
Ohio 32,335
Washington 30,385
Connecticut 29,918
South Carolina 22,009
Oregon 18,295
Illinois 15,041
Arizona 14,257
Colorado 13,677
Michigan 11,047
New Hampshire 10,922
Maine 10,766
Tennessee 7,475
Hawaii 7,332
Rhode Island 7,271
Minnesota 5,885
Delaware 5,517
Vermont 5,202
Kentucky 4,941
Nevada 4,898
Missouri 4,575
Wisconsin 4,173
Alabama 3,842
Alaska 3,631
West Virginia 3,509
Louisiana 3,405
District of Columbia 3,266
Oklahoma 3,199
Idaho 2,907
Montana 2,762
Kansas 2,730
New Mexico 2,379
Nebraska 1,887
Iowa 1,764
Utah 1,650
Arkansas 1,600
Mississippi 1,142
Wyoming 743
South Dakota 577
North Dakota 400
Top Performance on SAT I 2001 Number who Scored Within Range in 2001
Verbal 750-800 19,717
Math 750-800 24,802
Verbal 700-749 38,891
Math 700-749 49,879
The number of 1600 scores has been increasing slightly over the past 5 years.
587 students scored a perfect score in 2001, 541 students scored perfectly in 2000.
Source: The College Board
Sample SAT Questions from Kaplan, Inc.
Note: Kaplan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO).
Analogies
Easy:
YAWN : BOREDOM ::
(A) react : surprise
(B) pout : displeasure
(C) gasp : breath
(D) repose : sleep
(E) cheer : displeasure
B. A YAWN is a physical sign of BOREDOM in much the same way that a pout is a physical sign of displeasure.
Medium:
GULLIBLE : DUPE ::
(A) fallible : err
(B) foolhardy : confuse
(C) dejected : dishearten
(D) headstrong : coax
(E) submissive : control
E. One who is GULLIBLE is easy to DUPE. One who is fallible is capable of erring, which is not the same bridge and foolhardy looks like it has something to do with confuse, but their definitions really have nothing to do with each other. Choice (D) actually has the opposite bridge as the stem pair-one who is headstrong is difficult to coax. Only (E) works-one who is submissive is easy to control.
Hard:
ENTOMOLOGY : INSECTS ::
(A) agriculture : cows
(B) pedagogy : education
(C) astronomy : telescope
(D) literature : character
(E) evolution : man
B. ENTOMOLOGY is the study of INSECTS, and pedagogy is the study of education.
Problem Solving
Easy
Q: Four people shared a taxi to the airport. The fare was $36.00, and they gave the driver a tip equal to 25 percent of the fare. If they equally shared the cost of the fare and tip, how much did each person pay?
(A) $9.00
(B) $9.75
(C) $10.25
(D) $10.75
(E) $11.25
Answer: E
Exp: This is a typical SAT math problem, in that the calculations aren't difficult, but there are a number of them to do and it would be easy to confuse what the question is asking for. 25% of a $36 fare is $9, so the total paid by the four passengers is $45. $45 divided by 4 is $11.25, which is how much each person paid.
Medium
Q: Liza took 5n photographs on a certain trip. If she gives n photographs to each of her 3 friends, how many photographs will she have left?
(A) 2n
(B) 3n
(C) 4n - 3
(D) 4n
(E) 4n + 3
Answer: A
Exp: The best way to answer this question is to pick a number for n. Choose n = 6, because it's a multiple of 3 and will make 5n be a multiple of 3 as well. So,
Lisa took 5(6) = 30 photographs
She gave 3(6) = 18 photographs to her friends, leaving her with 30 - 18 = 12 pictures.
12 = 2(6), so the correct answer is A.
QC
Easy
Q:
14 < x < 16
15 < y < 17
Column A Column B
y x
(A) if the quantity in Column A is greater;
(B) if the quantity in Column B is greater;
(C) if the two quantities are equal;
(D) if the relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Answer: D
Exp: If x = 15 and y = 16, y is bigger, and the answer would be A. However, if x = 15.5 and y = 15.2, then x is bigger, and the answer would be B. Similarly, if both x and y are equal to 15. 4, the answer would be C. Hence, the answer must be D, for "it depends."
Medium
Column A Column B
The circumference of a circle with radius 2x The circumference of a circle with diameter x.
(A) if the quantity in Column A is greater;
(B) if the quantity in Column B is greater;
(C) if the two quantities are equal;
(D) if the relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Answer: A
Exp: No matter what number you pick for x, sine the radius of the circle in column A is twice the DIAMETER of the circle in column B, the circle in column A will always be bigger.
Grid-Ins
Easy
Q: If 3/a = 5/4 , what is the value of a?
A: 12/5
Exp: Cross multiply to get 5a = 12, then divide both sides by 5 to get a = 12/5.
Medium
Q: If the length of one side of a triangle is 5 and the length of another side is 8, what is one positive integer less than 12 that could NOT be the length of the third side?
A: 1, 2 or 3
Exp: The third side of any triangle must be between the sum and the difference of the other two. In this case, the third side must be between 5 + 8 = 13 and 8 - 5 = 3, and since the question asks for numbers less than 12 that CANNOT be the third side, 1, 2 or 3 will work.
Press Contacts:
Bonnie Morris
Tel: 212-974-6233
bonnie_morris@kaplan.com
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