What is the SAT curve?
The SAT “curve” generates a scaled score (200-800) from your raw score (the number of questions right minus a quarter point for each multiple-choice question wrong). This curve is designed to correct for minor variations in the difficulty of the test. If the test is a little too hard (e.g., January, 2006) compared to an average SAT, you will get a higher score than if you had taken an easier test (e.g., October, 2007) and gotten the same number of correct answers. For example, if you get only 3 multiple-choice questions incorrect, for a raw math score of 50 (54 – 3 – 0.75 penalty), on an “easy” SAT you will get a 710, on an average SAT you will get a 720, and on a “hard” SAT you will get a 730. A common myth about the SAT is that the average test taker should avoid a particular test month if a large group of strong students will be taking the SAT that month, and instead take the test when a large group of weaker students will take the test. The (incorrect) assumption here is that the c
