SAT scores: What was the range in the 70s?

Hey guys! I've been researching a bit about the history of the SAT, and I came across some mentions of SAT scores being very different in the 70s. I'm curious about the range of SAT scores during that time and how they compare to today's scale. Any insights?

Hey there! You're right; the SAT has undergone a number of changes since the 1970s, including changes to the scoring scale. Back in the 70s, the SAT was scored on a scale of 200-800 for each section, the Verbal section and the Math section, which means that the combined score ranged from 400-1600. This is the same as today, but the actual scores were distributed differently.

In 1974, the College Board introduced an equating process, which adjusted the SAT scores of students to account for differences in the difficulty of the test for various test administrations. After this change, the average scores actually dropped throughout the late 70s and into the 80s, due to the new scoring method.

To give you a rough idea of how the scores compared, in 1972 the average combined score was around 1039 (with 530 in Verbal and 509 in Math), whereas in 2019 the average combined score was about 1059 (with 531 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and 528 in Math). Of course, it's important to note the differences in test structure and content when comparing these scores directly.

Overall, while the scoring scale may appear the same on the surface, the way scores were distributed, along with changes in test content and structure over the years, makes direct comparisons between the SAT scores of the 1970s and today's scores a bit more nuanced.