How do standardized test curves work?

So I'm a little confused about how test curves work, especially with standardized tests like the SAT or ACT. Can anyone explain the process of curving these tests and how it affects our scores? Thanks!

Curving for standardized tests like the SAT and ACT is actually a process called equating. The purpose of equating is to ensure that scores from different test administrations are fair and comparable. This is important because slight variations in difficulty can occur from one test date to another. To address these variations, equating takes into account the performance of test-takers on different test forms and adjusts the scores accordingly.

Standardized tests typically have several questions that overlap with previous tests or are being field-tested. These overlapping questions help to anchor the scores and maintain consistency across tests. Exam agencies compare the performance of test-takers on the overlapping questions to determine how the difficulties of different test forms compare.

After this comparison, the tests are equated to adjust for any discrepancies in difficulty between the test forms. This means that if you take a slightly more difficult version of the exam, your score will be adjusted upward to ensure fairness. Conversely, if you take a slightly easier version, your score would be adjusted downward.

It's important to note that equating is not the same as curving. A curved test is designed such that a specific percentage of students achieve particular score ranges (e.g., top 10% get A's, next 20% get B's, etc.). Standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are not curved in this manner. Equating is used to make sure that test scores are comparable across different test forms, but it does not predetermine the distribution of scores.