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+ Techno World Inc - The Best Technical Encyclopedia Online! » Forum » THE TECHNO CLUB [ TECHNOWORLDINC.COM ] » Educational Zone » Other Exams
 SAT
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Vatsal
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SAT
« Posted: October 12, 2006, 06:45:49 PM »


SAT
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The SAT (pronounced "es-A-tee") Reasoning Test, formerly called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, is a type of standardized test frequently used by colleges and universities in the United States to aid in the selection of incoming students. In the U.S., the SAT is administered by the private College Board, and is developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

Function
Further information: Education in the United States

Unlike many other countries' education systems, there are substantial differences in teaching methods and curriculum among U.S. secondary schools, both in regard to high schools in separate states and between high schools in the same state. The variability results largely from the American principle of federalism, whereby local jurisdictions have most of the control over school systems, and the tax system in the U.S., in which school districts are funded locally as well. Wealthier jurisdictions enjoy higher tax revenue, and as a result their public schools are better funded.

These differences make it difficult for universities to compare prospective students in an effort to identify and admit the most deserving and promising candidates. In the absence of centralized secondary education school exit exams (such as the French Baccalaur?at, Irish Leaving Certificate, or English A-levels), there is a need in the U.S. for some sort of standardized tests. U.S. universities use tests such as the SAT and the ACT as a way of assessing students coming from schools using different class ranking or grading systems or in schools with no grades at all.

The tests are generally taken by high school students or graduates wishing to progress to higher education, though they are available to anyone. Test results of applicants are provided to colleges and universities identified by the student. Although admission criteria to these universities usually also include GPA, teacher recommendations, and participation in extracurricular activities, some colleges have a threshold score that automatically qualifies or disqualifies a candidate for admission. Scores on the SAT are also sometimes used as a criterion for the awarding of academic scholarships.


SATs worldwide

Internationally, there is little interest or knowledge of the SAT, because other countries usually have their own standardized tests. However, the SATs are available worldwide to interested students.

Graduates of schools outside of the United States seeking admission to U.S. colleges/universities are often expected to provide SAT (or ACT) scores. These students are often not informed of the availability of these tests, and most teachers outside of the U.S. (especially those in non-English speaking countries) are also not aware of this requirement. Usually, interested students must obtain information about the test on their own (typically from U.S. embassies, consulates, an international school and/or by obtaining a free "SAT Program Registration Bulletin, International Version"). This can require international travel and large fees. Because the SAT has been well established for many years, some universities outside of the U.S. may also consider SAT scores in their admissions process as well, although they are rarely required.

England and Wales use quite different tests called SATs (pronounced sats) at several stages in the school system.


SAT Reasoning Test

The SAT Reasoning Test (formerly the SAT I: Reasoning Test and commonly referred to as the SAT I) consists of three sections: math, critical reading, and writing. Beginning with the March 12, 2005 administration of the exam, the SAT Reasoning Test was modified and lengthened. Changes included the removal of analogy questions from the Critical Reading (formerly verbal) section and quantitative comparisons from the mathematics section. A writing section (with an essay) based largely on the former SAT II Writing Subject Test was added to the exam, and the mathematics section was expanded to cover three years of high school mathematics. Also, since the writing section was included in the SAT I, the SAT II Writing Subject Test was discontinued. Short passages with one or two questions following them replaced analogies. Scores on each section range from 200 to 800, with scores always being a multiple of 10.

The new SAT contains ten sections and a total length of 3 hours 45 minutes; with the additional writing section, a "perfect" score on the new SAT is 2400 (On the March 12, 2005 SAT, 107 students nationwide scored a perfect 2400[1]; scores are calculated by the addition of the score on each section; thus a score of 800 on the Critical Reading, Math and Writing sections are needed for a perfect score). The ten sections are divided up as follows: Three math, three reading, and three writing, with one equating section which may be any one of the three types. The equating section does not count in any way towards a student's score; it is used to test questions for future exams and to compare the difficulty level of each exam. During the test, takers do not know which section is the equating section (however, it is never the essay or Section 10, which is always a ten minute writing section). Each of the questions within a section is ordered by difficulty (the test is commonly said to be "powered"). However, an important exception exists: Questions that follow the long and short reading passages are organized chronologically instead of by difficulty. It's also important to note that each question carries the same weighting. Each question now has five answer choices. Ten of the questions in one of the math sections are not multiple-choice. They instead require the test taker to input the result of their calculations in a four-column grid. For each correct answer, one raw point is added; for each incorrect answer one-fourth of a point is deducted. This ensures that a student's mathematically expected gain from random guessing is zero. For the ten student-produced answers in the math section, no points are deducted for a wrong answer. The final score is derived from the raw score; the precise conversion chart varies between test administrations due to minor variations in test difficulty.

The writing section of the new SAT includes multiple choice questions and a brief essay. The essay section, which is always administered first, is twenty-five minutes long. All essays must be in response to a given prompt. The prompts are broad philosophical questions. Test takers may be asked to explain their opinion on the value of work in human life, or whether democracy represents an ideal system of government. While five-paragraph essays are not required, the College Board recommends using a variety of examples drawn from the individual's life experience, from history or from literature. Trained readers assign each essay a score between one and six. Blank essays or those which are considered off-topic are given a score of zero. In the complex process of scaling a test-taker's writing score, the essay score accounts for roughly thirty percent; the multiple choice component, seventy percent. In other words, the essay score represents roughly two hundred points out of 2400; on most test administrations, it should be possible to obtain a score of 2200 or above while leaving the essay blank.

Which scores on the new test qualify as "excellent", "average", or "poor" is yet to be determined. One of the reasons for the new test was to broaden the range of scores by adding another section; however, this tends to make judging new scores difficult. Many American colleges will require the new test, but will continue to only consider the reading and math score combination in the criteria of their admissions process. Some colleges will now accept the writing section in lieu of the SAT II: Writing Subject Test, which has been discontinued. Most universities and colleges plan to study the results from the new tests for several years before setting expectations and requirements.

In the early 1990s, the SAT consisted of six sections: Two math sections (scored together on a 200-800 scale), two verbal sections (scored together on a 200-800 scale), the Test of Standard Written English (scored on a 20-60+ scale), and an equating section. In 1994, the exam was modified, removing antonym questions, and adding math questions that were not multiple choice. The average score on the 1994 modification of the SAT I was, in theory, 1000 (500 on the verbal, 500 on the math). The most recent national average was 520 for math and 508 for verbal, a combined score of 1028. The most selective schools in the United States (for example, those in the Ivy League) typically had SAT averages exceeding 1400 on the old test.


Taking the test

The SAT is offered seven times a year in the United States, in October, November, December, January, March (or April, alternating), May, and June. The SAT is typically offered on the first Saturday of the month for the November, December, May and June test dates. In other countries, the SAT is offered on the same dates as in the United States except for the first spring test date (i.e. March or April), which is not offered. Students can prepare for the test with books, tutors, online programs, or the use of newly designed calculator programs during the test. Companies such as Kaplan, Inc. and The Princeton Review have tutoring programs that can reach $1100 - $3000 (USD) for a six week session. In addition, numerous "boutique" tutoring companies offer one-on-one tutoring services, ranging from around $250 to over $700 per hour, depending upon the experience level of the individual tutor. There is also the little known resource of calculator programs, some of which can be used during the math section of the test (one example featured by The New York Times can be found at http://www.HigherSAT.com and goes for $39), while others can be used in place of verbal flashcards. Online test preparation is widely available; the first such online SAT preparation course www.testprep.com was created in 1995 by Pardner Wynn, and was recommended by the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal Smart Money Magazine, and PC Magazine's first "Top 100 Websites" list.

Candidates may either take the SAT Reasoning Test or up to three SAT Subject Tests on any given test date, except the first spring test date, when only the SAT Reasoning Test is offered. Candidates wishing to take the test may register online at the College Board's website, by mail, or by telephone, at least three weeks before the test date.

The SAT Reasoning Test costs $41.50. For the Subject tests, students pay an $18 Basic Registration Fee and $8 per test (except for language tests with listening, which cost $19 each). The College Board makes fee waivers available for low income students. Additional fees apply for late registration, standby testing, registration changes, scores by telephone, and extra score reports (beyond the four provided for free).

Candidates whose religious beliefs prevent them from taking the test on a Saturday may request to take the test on the following Sunday. Such requests must be made at the time of registration and are subject to denial.


Raw scores, scaled scores and percentiles

The student receives their score report approximately two to three weeks after administration of the test, with each section graded on a scale of 200 to 800. In addition to their score, students receive their percentile (the percentage of other test takers with lower scores). The raw score, or the number of points gained from correct answers and lost from incorrect answers (ranges from just under 50 to just under 60, depending upon the test), is not included; however, the raw score can be readily calculated from the information provided on the score report. Students may also receive, for an additional fee, the Question and Answer Service, which provides the student's answer, the correct answer to each question, and online resources explaining each question.

The corresponding percentile of each scaled score varies from test to test ? for example, in 2003, a scaled score of 800 in both sections of the SAT Reasoning Test corresponded to a percentile of 99.9, while a scaled score of 800 in the SAT Physics Test corresponded to the 94th percentile. The differences in what scores mean with regard to percentiles are because of the content of the exam and the caliber of students choosing to take each exam. Subject Tests are subject to intensive study (often in the form of an AP, which is relatively more difficult), and only those who know they will perform tend to take these tests, creating a skewed or non-linear distribution of scores.

The percentiles that various SAT scores correspond to are summarized in the following chart:
Percentile   Score, old test
(official, 2003[1])   Score, new test
(unofficial estimate,[2]
date unspecified)   
99+   ≥1540   ≥2300?   
99   ≥1480   ≥2200?   
98   ≥1450   ≥2100?   
95   ≥1380   ≥2000?   
89   ≥1300   ≥1900?   
82   ≥1230   ≥1800?   
72   ≥1160   ≥1700?   
61   ≥1090   ≥1600?   
50   ≥1030   Figures unavailable.   
40   ≥980   
30   ≥920   
20   ≥850   
10   ≥760   
0   ≥400   ≥600   

The "old" SAT (prior to 1995) had an incredibly high ceiling. In any given year, only seven of the million test-takers scored above 1580. If one makes the reasonable assumption that all of the very brightest people in that U.S. age group, which numbers 3 million, took the test, then a score above 1580 has a rarity of about one in 400 thousand., equivalent to the 99.9997 percentile [3]


SAT Subject Tests

The SAT Subject Tests are 20 one-hour multiple-choice tests given in individual subjects. A student chooses which ones he or she will take, depending upon individual factors, such as college entrance requirements. Until 1994, the SAT Subject Tests were known as Achievement Tests; until January 2005 they were formally named "SAT II," the name by which they are still well known. The exception to the one-hour time was the Writing test, which was divided into a 20-minute essay question and a 40-minute multiple choice section; it was discontinued after January 2005. A student may take up to three SAT Subject tests on any given date, which are the same dates as for the administration of the SAT Reasoning Test. It is recommended that any high school student who takes an AP class, should take the SAT Subject Test in that area of study just after the AP exam (around June).


Subject tests

English
Literature

History and Social Studies
U.S. History (formerly American History and Social Studies)
World History

Mathematics
Mathematics Level 1 (formerly Math IC)
Mathematics Level 2 (formerly Math IIC)

Science
Biology E/M (Ecological/Molecular)
Chemistry
Physics

Languages
Chinese with Listening
French
French with Listening
German
German with Listening
Spanish
Spanish with Listening
Modern Hebrew
Italian
Latin
Japanese with Listening
Korean with Listening

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« Reply #1 Posted: October 12, 2006, 06:47:12 PM »
Vatsal
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More About SAT
« Reply #1 Posted: October 12, 2006, 06:47:12 PM »

History and name changes

The initials SAT have been used since the test was first introduced in 1901, when it was known as the Scholastic Achievement Test and was meant to measure the level achieved by students seeking college admission. The test was used mainly by colleges and universities in the northeastern United States. In 1941, after considerable development, the non-profit College Board changed the name to the Scholastic Aptitude Test, still the most popular name. The test became much more widely used in the 1950s and 1960s and once was almost universal.

The success of SAT coaching schools, such as Kaplan, Inc. and the Princeton Review, forced the College Board to change the name again. In 1990, the name was changed to Scholastic Assessment Test, since a test that can be coached clearly did not measure inherent "scholastic aptitude", but was influenced largely by what the test subject had learned in school. This was a major theoretical retreat by the College Board, which had previously maintained that the test measured inherent aptitude and was free of bias.

In 1994, however, the redundancy of the term assessment test was recognized and the name was changed to the neutral, and non-descriptive, SAT. At the time, the College Board announced, "Please note that SAT is not an initialism. It does not stand for anything."

The test scoring was initially scaled to make 500 the mean score on each section with a standard deviation of 100. As the test grew more popular and more students from less rigorous schools began taking the test, the average dropped to about 450 for each section. Various attempts to balance out this decline led to complex statistical anomalies. For example, in certain years it was impossible to get a score of 780 or 790 on a section; one could only get a 770 or below or an 800. To combat the trend toward declining scores, the SAT was "recentered" in 1995, and the average score became again closer to 500. All scores awarded after 1994 are officially reported with an "R" (e.g. 1260R) to reflect this change.

In 2005, the test was changed again, in response to various criticisms. Because of issues concerning ambiguous questions, especially analogies, certain types of questions were eliminated (the analogies disappeared altogether). The test was made marginally harder, as a corrective to the rising number of perfect scores. A new writing section was added, in part to increase the chances of closing the opening gap between the highest and midrange scores. Other factors included the desire to test the writing ability of each student in a personal manner; hence the essay. The New SAT (officially the SAT Reasoning Test) was first offered on March 12, 2005, after the last administration of the "old" SAT, the 1994 revision, in January of that year.

Alternative theories about the motivation for these changes have proliferated, especially among students. One possible explanation is that the greater emphasis on verbal skills reflects our society's persistent devalueing of mathematical ability. The addition of a writing section may be intended to boost the scores of young women, who tend to be more proficient in the language arts. While this might appear a boon to female students, it would simultaneously mask the persistent gender gap in mathematics, deflecting attention from this critical issue.

The March 12th test was reported to have 107 perfect "2400" scores, above College Board estimates but at a far lesser rate relative to the old proportion of perfect scores on the 1600-point test.

In March of 2006, it was announced that a small percentage of the SAT tests taken in October 2005 had been scored incorrectly, giving some students substantially different scores. The College Board announced they would change the scores for the students who were given a lower score than they earned, but at this point many of those students had already applied to colleges using their original scores. This angered a large number of people, and provoked strikes nationwide amongst affected students. The College Board decided not to change the scores for the students who were given a higher score than they earned. A lawsuit has been filed by a student who received an incorrect low score on the SAT. [2] The lawsuit is currently seeking class action status.
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