A test accuracy group called the latest SAT a “marketing ploy designed to sell more tests” on Monday.
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) alleged this after College Board, the organization responsible for creating and administering the test, said that 2017 SAT scores “can’t be compared to previous results” in a FairTest press release obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The College Board is a test-selling company,” said Bob Schaeffer, FairTest’s public education director, in the press release. “Based on its public tax returns, the Board takes in more than $900 million each year. It holds assets topping one billion dollars. The firm’s president receives nearly $900,000 in annual compensation.”
“The SAT redesign aimed to re-position the Board’s flagging, flagship product,” asserted Schaeffer. “It hoped to stave off further growth of the rival ACT, which has become the nation’s most popular college entrance exam. Most importantly, it tried to stem the rapidly growing movement toward test-optional admissions policies.”
FairTest claimed that schools are beginning to recognize that they do not need SAT scores to make the most informed admission choices. The organization linked to a list of nearly 1,000 institutions of higher education that do not use SAT or ACT scores to admit a large proportion of applicants.
“There is no independent evidence that [the redesigned SAT] is a better measure than the one nearly 1,000 colleges and universities have rejected by adopting test-optional policies,” said Schaeffer to TheDCNF.
“In the class of 2017, 46 percent of students who took the new SAT met or exceeded the new College and Career Readiness benchmarks, showing they are likely ready to take and succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college courses,” said Maria Eugenia Alcón-Heraux, College Board’s media relations director, in a press release obtained by TheDCNF.
College Board reported a mean total score of 1060, with a mean reading/writing score of 533 and mean math score of 527, but said that the mean could not be compared to previous scores.
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