SAT June 2018 SAT: The Problem with the Waiting Game!

Attention College Bound Teens!

Experts say that many students’ composite scores dropped significantly on the June 2018 SAT compared to previous exams.

The Problem With The Waiting Game.

For some Connecticut students, SAT testing circumstances have been less than ideal. And, for the Class of 2019, opportunities to reach their personal best scores have been challenging at best.

Here’s Why:

Let’s start at the beginning of this year! First, the College Board dropped its January SAT 2018 test in favor of an August 2018 exam. So, if a junior did not take the exam in October, November, or December of 2017, the next chance to take the SAT was not until March 10th. BUT, since the in-school exam was scheduled for March 21st, many students understandably decided to wait.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature packed us with a wallop of a snowstorm on test day, pushing the test back a month. Then, many students, having just taken the in-school exam, decided to skip May in favor of June,  which is a good plan, until it is not.

Here’s Why:

Yesterday morning the College Board released its June 2nd SAT score report to what many experts consider an extremely harsh curve. Apparently, there were not enough difficult questions, so every wrong answer led to an increasingly steeper curved score.
Additionally, on the verbal component of the SAT — a total of four questions, — two from the reading and two from the writing — were removed from the final score. The combination of these two factors had a significant effect on many students’ composite scores especially the writing since it has a smaller pool of questions.

To put this explanation into quantifiable terms, let’s look at the writing section of the last four SAT exams:

Bottom Line:

You could get 5 more wrong on the March SAT than on the June SAT Writing and still get the same score!

What’s Next? Don’t Wait!

Rising Seniors: Register for the August 25th exam today.

Regular registration will close on July 27th, but center availability is limited. There are very few test centers in New York State giving the exam so many New York residents have already signed up for a Connecticut test center.

Rising Juniors:

The SAT is not an exact science. Students can combat the variations in the exams by starting prep now and taking the authentic test at least three times, ideally completing your test-taking by the end of your Junior year. This way, you can focus on your Common Application and Personal Essay the summer before your senior year!