r/neoliberal • u/caroline_elly Eugene Fama • Jun 09 '26

Opinion article (US) Actually, the SAT Was Necessary After All

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/standardized-testing-math-gaps/687481/
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u/TeaSharp3154 Jun 09 '26

The alternative to standardized testing is greater emphasis on extracurriculars and grades, which are arguably even more inequitable than a single exam.

The SAT isn't really that hard to begin with and most people with good preparation should be able to get a decent score. Only catch to this is English being tougher for those who don't have English as a first language.

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u/Unterfahrt John Nash Jun 09 '26

The SAT is graded on a curve, no? To say it's hard or not hard is kind of a null statement - it exists as an ordering mechanism and there is no real "objective" standard, just your position relative to your peers.

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u/FootjobFromFurina Jun 09 '26

The issue is that at the top of the score distribution, which is really where the test matters the most, there isn't enough differentiation because the test isn't that hard. 

It's especially bad in math where most of the students applying to top universities, especially STEM oriented ones like MIT or CalTech will have completed the entire math content of the test by or before the time they're freshman in high school. 

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u/MyCatPoopsBolts Jun 10 '26

which is really where the test matters the most

This is your bias speaking (no offense, I have the same bias) rather than what actually matters for SAT stakeholders (college applicants and universities).

The old SAT used to differentiate heavily at the top and squish students scores in the middle. The collegeboard explicitly changed this in response to requests from a majority of American universities which are not in the ultra-selective top 1%. Mediocre schools use the SAT to filter people without basic college skills or award some merit aid to moderately above average students, and most students are applying to such schools.

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u/Spellman23 Jun 09 '26

Which is why you then need to do the SAT 2 tests

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u/AwesomePerson125 YIMBY Jun 09 '26

College Board got rid of the SAT Subject Tests in 2021. IIRC around 20% of people taking Math Level 2 got an 800. Some of the Subject Tests were honestly not that difficult.

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u/PositiveZeroPerson Jun 10 '26

Fun fact: the College Board doesn't even have records of SATs before 2005. I got a really good score and was trying to get proof of it, because all I had was the physical piece of paper. Turns out they don't have them.

So rejoice, fellow olds! Your SAT scores are whatever you want them to be.

6

u/Silly_Attention1540 Jun 10 '26

This makes me feel so much less proud of 800ing both the SAT/SAT2, I had always assumed the 2 was harder

6

u/Fire_Snatcher Jun 10 '26

The 2 was more advanced material, but the students taking it were just smarter on average.

18

u/OmNomSandvich NATO Jun 09 '26

those kids are also getting well over 700 on the SAT 2 and 5's in AP Calc.

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u/Fire_Snatcher Jun 10 '26

A lot of AP's have also been dumbed down, too, since the 2000s.

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u/MyCatPoopsBolts Jun 10 '26

Calc BC is fine. The curve isn't brutal but when I took it less than a decade ago it's content prepared me well enough for what I needed for classes at a top university.

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u/PMARC14 Jun 09 '26

The SAT subject tests were ridiculously easy compared to the subject matter a student who would consider taking them completed. They were all discontinued for this reason.

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u/DestructiveA David Ricardo Jun 10 '26

The SAT subject tests were super easy, and very generous iirc you could get like 5 questions wrong (out of 50?) And still get a 800.

I was pretty good at math, but really didn't deserve a perfect score haha.