Norming the SAT

We received another excellent question today about testing. Read on for another tip from Michele.

Q: I enjoy reading your newsletter and find it most informative. I do have a question that a parent asked: is it true that taking the SAT in March that a student will be competing with a more “intelligent” group of test takers and that the scores are graded on a curve? Hence wouldn’t it be better to take it in May or June?

A: That is NOT true actually – the college board norms tests against all the test takers in a year for SAT I, not from one sitting. So it makes no difference who takes the test on a given day. In fact, a lot of our kids do better in March, but if you look at kids who take the test in January, March, and May, the more important trend is that they tend to do better each time!