The Admissions Testing Program of the College Board comprises a number of college admissions tests, including the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) and the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). High school students participate in the testing program as sophomores, juniors, or seniors—some more than once during these 3 years. If they have taken the tests more than once, only the most recent scores are tabulated. The PSAT and SAT report subscores in the areas of mathematics and verbal ability.
The SAT results are not representative of high school students or college-bound students nationally since the sample is self-selected. Generally, tests are taken by students who need the results to apply to a particular college or university. Totals for a state are greatly affected by the requirements of its state colleges. Public colleges in many states require ACT scores rather than SAT scores. Thus, the proportion of students taking the SAT in these states is very low and is inappropriate for any comparison. In recent years, more than 1.4 million high school students have taken the examination annually. The latest version of the SAT was first administered in March, 2005.
Further information on the SAT can be obtained from:
College Entrance Examination Board
Educational Testing Service
Princeton, NJ 08541
http://www.collegeboard.org/
Other Organization Sources