First, take a deep breath. Hearing “error” and “SAT” in the same sentence can create stress. The College Board will NOT ask anyone to retake the SAT, despite a printing error on the June 6, 2015 test. Here’s what happened, straight from the College Board public announcement:
The time allotted for a specific math or reading section — either section 8 or 9, depending on the edition — was incorrect in the student test books but correct in the script and manual provided to test center supervisors. The copy in the student test books indicated “25 minutes” while the manual and script indicated the correct time limit of “20 minutes.”
Not to worry, the June 6 SAT scores will still be acceptable for college admissions and applications.
After a comprehensive review and statistical analysis, the College Board and ETS have determined that the affected sections will not be scored, and that we will still be able to provide reliable scores for all students who took the SAT on June 6. We expect to deliver scores within the usual time frame.
Colleges and universities will know these scores are valid.
More explanation about why the June SAT scores will still be valid:
To accommodate the wide range of incidents that can impact a testing experience, the SAT is designed to collect enough information to provide valid and reliable scores even with an additional unscored section. From fire drills and power outages to mistiming and disruptive behavior, school-based test administrations can be fragile, so our assessments are not.
We have deliberately constructed both the Reading and the Math Tests to include three equal sections with roughly the same level of difficulty. If one of the three sections is jeopardized, the correlation among sections is sufficient to be able to deliver reliable scores.
For more information, see the FAQ’s on the College Board website or contact: [email protected]
