A printing error in the test booklets distributed nationwide for the SAT June 6 gave students conflicting advice about the time allotted in certain math and reading sections.
Those affected sections will not be scored, but students will still receive “reliable scores” for the overall exam that colleges will accept as valid, according to a statement issued June 8 by the College Board and the Educational Testing Service, which administer the college-entrance exam. Results are expected to be delivered on time.
As students were taking the SAT Saturday morning, ETS officials notified the College Board that the student test books indicated a time limit of 25 minutes for certain math and reading sections, depending on the edition, while the manual and script give the correct time of 20 minutes. During the test, ETS worked to give supervisors correct guidance, according to the statement.
After analyzing the situation, the College Board decided to drop scoring of the two sections where students thought they had an extra five minutes. Officials said the SAT is designed to collect enough information to provide valid and reliable scores even with an additional unscored section.
The College Board apologized for the error and the confusion the incident caused students.
The episode caused some angst among students, who shared their frustration online with College Confidential, according to an article today in Inside Higher Ed.
All students who took the SAT on June 6 in the United States are affected, approximately 487,000 registrants, according to College Board officials. Students who took the SAT on Sunday, June 7, or the SAT Subject Tests on Saturday were not impacted by the mistake.
The SAT is offered seven times a year. College Board reported 1.67 million students took the test in the class of 2014.