Fun SAT Quick Facts

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Fun SAT Quick Facts

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1 SAT Quick Fun Facts

[edit section] SAT Quick Fun Facts

Since you are interested in taking the SAT, we thought you might be interested in knowing a little bit about the test, who takes the test, and so forth. We've piled up a small collection of SAT Quick facts you may be interested in:

[edit section] History of the SAT

First SAT was developed in 1901 as a means of determining intelligence without systematic bias (much like an IQ test)
SAT originally stood for: "Scholastic Achievement Test"
In 1941, College Board changed the name to "Scholastic Aptitude Test"
In the years between 1941 and 1994, the scores steadily decreased as more and more unqualified students began to take the test
In 1994, the test mean was re-centered and the test re-named to simply SAT (no abbreviation)
So, SAT doesn't really stand for anything!
In 2005, the SAT was modified and a new "Writing" section, complete with an essay, was added
Before the re-centering in 1994, only about one student in every administration earned a "perfect" 1600 score. Now, multiple students per administration receive such a score

[edit section] Testing Stats

The SAT is administered seven times a year in the US and six times a year overseas
The SAT test consists of three scored sections, each on a 200-800 point scale
About two million students take the SAT worldwide each year
The mean total score on the SAT (out of 2400) is about 1520
The SAT is scored and curved on a modified normal distribution
SAT Subject Tests are scored and curved on skewed (sample) curves
The total length of the SAT Reasoning Test is three hours and forty-five minutes
The total length of the SAT Subject Test is one hour