SAT Scores Plummet

Okay, this is getting awkward.

For years, the SAT test has been under fire with questions about its fairness. The College Board denies all claims that the test is unfair to poor and minority students, and the public seems to agree. The test continues to be popular.

Then this past year there was an unfortunate scoring incident, when the College Board announced that thousands of tests were misscored. That problem was remedied promptly, and the College Board offered an apology. Again, they survived the ordeal pretty successfully.

Now it’s the writing section of the test that has made the news. Over the past few years, many people have voiced concerns that the addition of this portion would make the test too long and therefore too demanding for students. This week CNN reports that recent test scores have dropped dramatically. The scores have taken their biggest plunge in 31 years.

The College Board denies that test fatigue is to blame for the plummet. They suggest that the reason for the drop is the fact that fewer students opted to repeat the test. Instead, they tended to stick with their first score. Why? The cost has also increased.