Decreasing SAT scores
The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years, a decline that the exam’s owner, the College Board, says is partly due to some students taking the newly lengthened test only once instead of twice.
Fatigue wasn’t to blame, the College Board insists, even though this year’s class was the first to take a new version of the exam which added an essay. It now takes an average of three hours and 45 minutes to complete the test, not counting breaks.
The nonprofit College Board released figures today showing combined critical reading and math skills fell seven points on average to 1021. The average critical reading score fell from 508 to 503, while math dropped from 520 to 518. On the new SAT writing section, the class scored 497 on average, with girls scoring 11 points higher than boys.
Associated Press