Aug 2, 2008

ON COLLEGE: SAT score policy to change in 2009

By Jason Katz / Daily News columnist

Q: I have heard that the SAT is no longer going to require that students report all of their scores when they are submitting scores to colleges. Is this true?


A: This is true; however, the new policy will not take effect until March 2009.

Historically, when submitting SAT scores to colleges, the College Board (the company that runs the SAT) has required that all scores be sent. However, when the new policy begins, a student who takes the SAT twice (or however many times - there is no limit on how many times a student can take the SAT) will be able to choose to submit only his/her highest scores.

The senior vice president of the SAT, Laurence Bunin, told the Los Angeles Times: "Students were telling us (that) the ability to have more control over their scores would make the test experience more comfortable and less stressful. ... We can do that without in any way diminishing the value and integrity of the SAT."
Although the new policy will probably succeed in making the test experience "more comfortable and less stressful," it also appears to be an attempt to stifle the growing popularity of the ACT, the SAT's rival test, which has always allowed students to submit only their highest scores.

In the past, the SAT has been more popular with students on the East and West coasts, while the ACT has been more popular with Midwestern students (most colleges and universities will accept either test). However, the ACT has been gaining in popularity, partially because of its score-choice policy.
Although the SAT's new policy will likely be very popular with those students who can afford to take the SAT multiple times, it raises questions about a level playing field for those who cannot.

The College Board claims this is not an issue, because their fee-waivers allow low-income students to take the $45 test for free twice, and there is no advantage to taking the SAT more than twice.

However, I have spoken with some SAT tutors who claim that taking the test more than twice can be an advantage. With the right coaching, they claim, students can see score gains beyond just the second time they take the exam.

Additionally, the SAT's new policy will raise new questions for the colleges. Colleges will no longer know how many times a student has taken the test. Therefore, if a student scores very well on the critical reading portion of the test, they will no longer know if this score was earned the first time he/she took the test or if it was earned after much coaching and the fifth sitting.

And according to the SAT tutors I spoke with, this distinction can make a large difference.



Jason Katz is an independent college counselor and is founder of JKatz College Counseling in Redwood City. E-mail Katz at jkatz@jkatzcollegecounseling.com.