Editing SAT (section)

=== Difficulty and relative weight ===
The SAT rigorously assesses students' mental stamina, memory, speed, accuracy, and capacity for abstract and analytical reasoning.<ref name="Shellenbarger-2009" /> For American universities and colleges, standardized test scores are the most important factor in admissions, second only to high-school GPAs.<ref name="Dance-2021" /> By international standards, however, the SAT is not that difficult.<ref name="Turner-2014">{{Cite news|last=Turner|first=Cory|date=April 30, 2014|title=U.S. Tests Teens A Lot, But Worldwide, Exam Stakes Are Higher|work=NPR|department=Education|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/04/30/308057862/u-s-tests-teens-a-lot-but-worldwide-exam-stakes-are-higher|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826223338/https://www.npr.org/2014/04/30/308057862/u-s-tests-teens-a-lot-but-worldwide-exam-stakes-are-higher|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, South Korea's College Scholastic Ability Test ([[College Scholastic Ability Test|CSAT]]) and Finland's [[Matriculation exam (Finland)|Matriculation Examination]] are both longer, tougher, and count for more towards the admissibility of a student to university.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ripley|first=Amanda|date=March 12, 2014|title=The New SAT Doesn't Come Close to the World's Best Tests|work=Time Magazine|url=https://time.com/18686/the-new-sat-doesnt-come-close-to-the-worlds-best-tests/|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918120137/https://time.com/18686/the-new-sat-doesnt-come-close-to-the-worlds-best-tests/|archive-date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> In many countries around the world, exams, including university entrance exams, are the sole deciding factor of admission; school grades are simply irrelevant.<ref name="Turner-2014" /> In China and India, doing well on the [[Gaokao]] or the [[IIT JEE|IIT-JEE]], respectively, enhances the [[social status]] of the students and their families.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Salaky|first=Kristin|date=September 5, 2018|title=What standardized tests look like in 10 places around the world|work=Insider|url=https://www.insider.com/standardized-tests-around-the-world-2018-9|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=October 19, 2022|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20221019013305/https://www.insider.com/standardized%2Dtests%2Daround%2Dthe%2Dworld%2D2018%2D9|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an article from 2012, educational psychologist Jonathan Wai argued that the SAT was too easy to be useful to the most competitive of colleges and universities, whose applicants typically had brilliant high-school GPAs and standardized test scores. Admissions officers therefore had the burden of differentiating the top scorers from one another, not knowing whether or not the students' perfect or near-perfect scores truly reflected their scholastic aptitudes. He suggested that the College Board make the SAT more difficult, which would raise the measurement ceiling of the test, allowing the top schools to identify the best and brightest among the applicants.<ref name="Wai-2012-1">{{Cite news|last=Wai|first=Jonathan|date=July 24, 2012|title=The SAT Needs to Be Harder|work=Education Week|department=Commentary|url=https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-the-sat-needs-to-be-harder/2012/07|url-status=live|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218182622/https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-the-sat-needs-to-be-harder/2012/07|archive-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref> At that time, the College Board was already working on making the SAT tougher.<ref name="Wai-2012-1" /> The changes were announced in 2014 and implemented in 2016.<ref name="Zoroya-2014">{{Cite news|last=Zoroya|first=Gregg|date=March 6, 2014|title=Sharpen those pencils: The SAT test is getting harder|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/05/sat-college-board-redesign-college-entrance-exam/6078091/|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418173714/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/05/sat-college-board-redesign-college-entrance-exam/6078091/|url-status=live}}</ref>

After realizing the June 2018 test was easier than usual, the College Board made adjustments resulting in lower-than-expected scores, prompting complaints from the students, though some understood this was to ensure fairness.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Popken|first=Ben|date=July 13, 2018|title=Easy SAT has students crying over 'shocking' low scores|work=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/easy-sat-has-students-crying-over-shocking-low-scores-n891036|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228161529/https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/easy-sat-has-students-crying-over-shocking-low-scores-n891036|url-status=live}}</ref> In its analysis of the incident, the Princeton Review supported the idea of curving grades, but pointed out that the test was incapable of distinguishing students in the 86th percentile (650 points) or higher in mathematics. The Princeton Review also noted that this particular curve was unusual in that it offered no cushion against careless or last-minute mistakes for high-achieving students.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jaschik|first=Scott|date=July 12, 2018|title=An 'Easy' SAT and Terrible Scores|work=Inside Higher Education|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/12/surprisingly-low-scores-mathematics-sat-stun-and-anger-students|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414005557/https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/12/surprisingly-low-scores-mathematics-sat-stun-and-anger-students|url-status=live}}</ref> The Review posted a similar blog post for the SAT of August 2019, when a similar incident happened and the College Board responded in the same manner, noting, "A student who misses two questions on an easier test should not get as good a score as a student who misses two questions on a hard test. Equating takes care of that issue." It also cautioned students against retaking the SAT immediately, for they might be disappointed again, and recommended that instead, they give themselves some "leeway" before trying again.<ref>{{Cite web|last=The Staff of the Princeton Review|date=2019|title=Why You Shouldn't Want an "Easy" SAT|url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/no-to-easy-sat|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028150336/https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/no-to-easy-sat|archive-date=October 28, 2020|access-date=February 19, 2021|website=Princeton Review}}</ref>