Across the nation, the average score on the reading and math sections of the newly revamped 2006 SAT demonstrated the largest decline in 31 years, according to a report from the College Board.
This year, the College Board, a non-profit organization that administers the SAT, expanded the test by adding a writing section, changing the former verbal portion into a critical reading section and keeping the former math section. The writing test entails a 25-minute essay and 49 multiple-choice questions on grammar and usage. The writing section, like the two other sections, is scored out of 800 points, making the entire test's score a possible 2,400 points.
The average score of the critical reading portion of the SAT was 503, falling by five points. The average score for the math portion was 518, falling by two points. Both scores combined to make the lowest average SAT score since 2002.
However, according to Robin Beads, a research analyst in AU's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, AU saw no large difference in the reading or math section scores of the class of 2010 in comparison to scores of the class of 2009.
Sharon Alston, director of undergraduate admissions, said AU required all students for the fall of 2006 to take the new SAT.
Alston said the middle 50 percent range for the class of 2010 is 1180 to 1360, critical reading and math combined, with an average score of 1268. This average is two points higher than last year's average. This year's freshmen had an average verbal score of 644 and an average math score of 624, whereas the class of 2005's verbal score was 643 and math score was 624.
The College Board report stated that the average score for the writing section of the SAT was 497 out of a possible 800.
A New York Times article reported that girls performed better than boys on the writing section, averaging 502 compared to the boys' score of 491. However, boys scored higher on the math and reading sections.
Alexis Lavi, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, said that after taking the exam the second time, she increased her scores in her writing and reading areas, but her math score decreased.
"I did better on the new SAT. ... It had a writing section on it, which improved my grade," said Tess Fulton, a freshman in the School of International Service.
According to Beads, boys have generally scored higher on the math section than girls and girls have performed better in reading.
"We have not yet determined the exact differences between genders this year," Beads said.
The new SAT is now three hours and 45 minutes long compared to the former three-hour-long test. College Board officials deny that the increased test length is the determinant for the decline in SAT scores, according to The New York Times.
However, Lavi said she disagrees with the College Board officials.
"The test is ridiculously long, and it really affects people's scores because of the length," she said.
College Board officials instead attributed the fall in scores to the decline in the number of students who took the test more than once. Students generally earn 14 points per section when they retake the test a second time, and 10 or 11 points a third time, according to The New York Times.
