SAT score trends (News)

News & Commentary

08/30/05 - The College Board reports that Math scores have increased while Verbal (now called Critical Reading) scores have remained flat over the last two decades.

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Summary
There are two main points in this press release by the College Board. Over the last 10 years:
Math scores have risen 14 points
Verbal score have risen 4 points

So we can safely state that Math scores have modestly risen over the past 10 years, while Verbal (Critical Reading) scores have remained flat.

Subgroups
Scores were also broken down by ethnic or racial group, and Asian American test-takers had the largest increase of 19 points in Verbal and 25 points in Math over the study period. Additionally, males and females did not display statistically significant differences in performance.

1.475 million students took the SAT in the 2005 year.

4% increase in the number of test takers last year.

53% of test takers in 2005 were female.

Typical scores on the NEW SAT were:
Critical Reading - 519
Math - 537
Writing Skills - 516

Explanation
The College Board seemed to credit tougher math curriculums for the increase in Math scores, but lamented the insufficiently rigorous reading and writing curriculums.

Pimp my Essay
The College Board has redoubled its efforts to "pimp" the New SAT essay. The essay graders appear to have significant teaching experience and are instructed to grade tests holistically, which purports to be a fairer method of evaluation.

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