More than 4,000 incoming freshman at universities across the country received lower scores on their SATs than deserved because of grading problems, according to the College Board.
Approximately 100 applicants to AU were affected, said Sharon Alston, director of admissions.
The College Board will raise the scores of 4,411 students, according to a press release. Some students also received higher scores on the exam than they deserved, but were not notified.
Other schools reported similar numbers of affected students. Stuart Vincent, in the university relations office of Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., said 116 applicants were affected.
Other schools were unaffected. Tracy Schario, a George Washington University spokeswoman, reported that none of GW's applicants were affected.
Every student's application that was affected was reviewed again by admissions counselors, according to both Alston and Vincent.
Alston said the admissions office reviewed "each one of these applicants to see if it was appropriate to change an admissions decision or change a scholarship offer."
No decisions were changed, she said, pointing out that AU takes the combination of the highest scores a student reports, and in most cases a students score only increased by 10 points. Vincent said their admissions office did not have to change any decisions about scholarships or admissions.
Some students said the grading flaws are further proof the SAT is not a good indicator of student ability. Some schools, such as Bates College in Maine, do not require students to take the SATs.
"The SATs misrepresent because they don't gauge your intelligence - they gauge how well you solve puzzles," said Dan Aspan, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs.
Aspan said he believes the test should be used as an accessory.
Ross Goldberg, a senior in high school in Tarzana, Calif. who recently took the SAT, said the SAT does not test students properly.
"It tests a person's ability, not how smart they are," he said.
Some students said the tests are important.
"It's good that they provide a standard measure," said Meg Imholt, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.
However, the test is easy to manipulate because it is multiple choice, and some students take preparatory classes, she added.
"You can't just go by GPA; it's good not to put the SAT on such a high basis, but it's good for comparing people at the same time," Imholt said.
The College Board is taking steps, such as scanning all tests twice, to make sure grading problems do not happen in the future, according to the press release.
