The SAT: A History of College Admissions Testing and Controversy
Since its inception in 1926, the SAT has been a subject of debate and transformation. Its history offers valuable insights into the evolution of college admissions and the ongoing quest for fair and accurate assessment. The SAT, a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States, has undergone numerous changes in its name and scoring since its debut.
Origins and Early Years
The genesis of the SAT can be traced back to the Army Alpha test, an IQ screener developed by Robert Yerkes to assess Army recruits during World War I. Carl Brigham, who worked with Yerkes on the Army Alpha test, adapted it to create a college admissions test.
In 1901, before the SAT, the College Entrance Examination Board administered its first exams to 973 students in various locations. These exams consisted of essay questions covering subjects such as English, French, German, Latin, Greek, history, geography, political science, biology, mathematics, chemistry, and physics.
The first SAT, then known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, was administered on June 23, 1926, to approximately 8,000 students. Created by Carl Brigham, the test included sections on definitions, arithmetic, classification, artificial language, antonyms, number series, analogies, logical inference, and paragraph reading. The test was fast-paced, with test-takers given 97 minutes to answer 315 questions.
Initially, the SAT was intended to supplement the College Board essay exams. However, its ease of administration led to the discontinuation of the essay exams during World War II.
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Evolution and Modifications
Over the years, the SAT has undergone numerous revisions and modifications. In 1930, the test was split into verbal and math sections, a structure that remained until 2005. The verbal section initially covered antonyms, double definitions, and paragraph reading.
In 1934, James Conant and Henry Chauncey used the SAT to identify scholarship recipients for Harvard University, seeking talented students from diverse backgrounds.
From 1936 to 1941, the mathematics section was eliminated. In 1946, paragraph reading was replaced with reading comprehension, and "double definition" questions were replaced with sentence completions. In 1959, questions on data sufficiency were introduced to the mathematics section, later replaced with quantitative comparisons in 1974.
In the early 1990s, the College Board considered changes to its testing program. In 1993, the name was changed to SAT I: Reasoning Test, and the Achievement Tests became SAT II: Subject Tests.
In 1994, antonyms were removed from the verbal section, and the fraction of verbal questions devoted to passage-based reading material was increased. Calculators were permitted on the math sections, and some math questions required students to supply the answers.
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In 2005, the test was changed again, with the elimination of analogies from the verbal section and quantitative comparison items from the math section. A new writing section, with an essay, was added.
In 2016, the SAT reversed some of those changes, including a return to the 1600-point scoring system and making the essay optional. In June 2021, the College Board discontinued the optional essay and SAT subject tests.
The SAT, Race, and Testing Bias
From its early days, the SAT has faced criticism regarding its potential for bias against students of color, low-income students, immigrants, and other historically excluded groups. Critics argue that the test was designed and modified in ways that favored white students.
For example, the SAT included analogy questions that were more easily answered by white students due to their familiarity with certain cultural references. In one instance, the SAT discarded a question on which Black test-takers outscored white test-takers but kept a question on which white students scored higher.
Ibram X. Kendi argued that standardized tests have become a tool to degrade Black and brown minds and exclude them from prestigious schools.
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To address these inequities, the College Board attempted to implement an adversity index in 2019, a score intended to shed light on a studentâs socioeconomic environment. However, this initiative was met with criticism and was eventually abandoned.
The Digital SAT
In early 2022, the College Board announced that the SAT would transition to a digital format, starting in 2023 for international students and 2024 for students in the United States. The digital version of the test requires two hours to complete, and scores are provided to students and educators within days. Students are permitted to use a calculator on the entire Math section, and an embedded calculator is provided as part of the digital test.
The digital SAT has two main sections: reading and writing, and math. Each section is divided into two modules. The second module is adaptive, meaning its difficulty is determined by a student's performance in the first module.
Scoring and Percentiles
The SAT is scored on a scale of 200-800 for each of the two sections (reading and writing, and math), resulting in a total score range of 400-1600. In addition to the section scores, students receive percentile scores, which indicate the percentage of students in a comparison group with equal or lower test scores.
One percentile, called the "Nationally Representative Sample Percentile", uses all 11th and 12th graders in the United States as a comparison group. The other percentile, called the "SAT User Percentile", uses actual scores from recent United States students who took the SAT.
The SAT and College Admissions
The SAT is widely used for college admissions in the United States. The College Board claims that the SAT measures literacy, numeracy, and writing skills needed for academic success in college and that the SAT, combined with high school GPA, provides a better indicator of success in college than high school grades alone.
However, many colleges and universities have made standardized test scores optional for prospective students. In 2021, the University of California system ended its 60-year use of the SAT.
The Debate Over the SAT's Value
The value of the SAT as a predictor of college success has been a subject of debate. Some studies have shown that high school GPA is a better predictor of college grades than the SAT. Other studies have found that the SAT is better than high school GPA at predicting first-year GPA and just as good at predicting undergraduate GPA, first-year retention, and graduation.
Some researchers argue that the SAT is less reliable when high school GPA is combined with demographics in the prediction. Others counter that the discriminatory impacts of the SAT are compensated for during the admissions process.
Despite the debate, some universities have found that SAT scores are more reliable predictors of collegiate success than GPA and allow them to identify more potentially qualified students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Preparing for the SAT
Many students prepare for the SAT using books, classes, online courses, and tutoring. While the College Board maintains that the SAT is essentially uncoachable, research suggests that preparation courses can result in a modest increase in test scores.
Cognitive scientist Sian Beilock suggests that 'choking', or substandard performance on important occasions, such as taking the SAT, can be prevented by doing plenty of practice questions and proctored exams to improve procedural memory, making use of the booklet to write down intermediate steps to avoid overloading working memory, and writing a diary entry about one's anxieties on the day of the exam to enhance self-empathy and positive self-image.
The Future of the SAT
The SAT continues to evolve in response to criticisms and changing trends in college admissions. The transition to a digital format, the elimination of certain question types, and the increased focus on accessibility reflect the College Board's efforts to make the test more fair and relevant.
However, the role of the SAT in college admissions remains a subject of debate. As more colleges and universities move towards test-optional policies, the future of the SAT is uncertain.
