College Board Loses Points With SAT Mistake

After a misprint in test booklets regarding the time allotted for taking part of the SAT on June 6, the College Board said that it would not score two sections of the exam, and would waive its fees for students who wanted to take the test again in October. 

The June 6 test booklets said students would have 25 minutes to complete the last of three reading sections. Proctors, however, were given instructions that students would have only 20 minutes for that section. While some proctors noticed the error and informed students in advance, others did not discover it until alerted by test takers. The confusion distracted some students during the exam.

Although the misprint appeared only in the final reading section, some students may have been taking their final math section in the same room as other students completing the reading section and been affected by any confusion, so the board said it would not score either section.

The board apologized for the error and it would still be able to provide reliable scores for all students because the SAT is designed to collect enough information to provide valid and reliable scores even with an unscored section.

If only that were true! Timing confusion during the test surely had a negative impact on some students' performance. And what if a student found an eliminated reading passage or math section easier than the ones preceding it? It’s a well-known fact in test theory and analysis that fewer items lead to less reliable scores. It’s easy to see how a 660 reading or math score, for example, could turn into a 630.

Also, scheduling a free test for October conflicts with Subject Tests at college application crunch time. The College Board should score the June 6 test both with the affected sections and without them, letting students and their parents decide which score to report. If neither one is satisfactory, students should have the option of taking a free retest in September. 

Printing glitch zeroes out a section of SAT

There was a printing error in the  test books Educational Testing Service provided to U.S. students taking the SAT on Saturday, June 6. In an update on Monday, June 8, at 5:30 p.m. EDT, the College Board and ETS said the affected sections will not be scored. They said they will still be able to provide reliable scores, within the usual timeframe, for all students who took the test. This kind of error is really unacceptable. The confusion during the test no doubt had a negative impact on some students' performance. Eliminating a Math or Critical Reading section is also a big deal. What if a student found a reading passage, or math section, easier than the one being dropped? 
https://lp.collegeboard.org/information-regarding-the-saturday-june-6-sat-administration

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