June 12, 2015 | by Krista Brick

Nearly 500,000 Students Affected by SAT Testing Issue Nationwide

Almost 500,000 students nationwide who took the SAT on June 6 will not have a portion of that test counted in their final score and that’s not sitting well with some local parents.

According to the College Board, on June 6, Educational Testing Service (ETS) informed the College Board that there was a printing error in the standard test books ETS provided to students taking the SAT that day in across the United States. That gave students five minutes less time for the final reading section.

“The time allotted for the last reading section 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.” Because of the way the SAT is administered, while the misprint appeared in the last reading section, students may have been taking the last math section in the same room at the same time, and also would be affected. As soon as ETS became aware of the error during the administration of the test, it worked to provide accurate guidance to supervisors and administrators,” Zach Goldberg, director of Media Relations for The College Board wrote in an email to MyMCMedia.

After a reviewing the issue, the College Board and ETS have determined that the affected sections will not be scored, according to an alert on the College Board website.

The SAT consists of three Tests: reading, writing, and math – with each test having multiple sections.

“We have deliberately constructed each test 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,” Goldberg wrote in an email to MyMCMedia.

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, according to a statement from College Board.

Damascus mom Nancy Lambros told MyMCMedia she believes the testing company should offer a retake of that portion of the test. Her son took the test on June 6 at Urbana High School.

“I feel like the kids were cheated,” Lambros said. Lambros said she contacted The College Board suggesting students be allowed to retake that section of the test. She said she had not gotten a response. MyMCMedia asked the same question and also did not get a direct response on a retake.

Other parents who commented on a Damascus Facebook post said they thought each section should be counted for the test to be valid.

The SAT test costs $52.50 to take with some students eligible for fee waivers, according to Goldberg.

“We take our responsibility to students very seriously, and we regret the confusion some students experienced. For more information, we encourage students and their families to check back here for the latest updates,” the website alert reads.

College Board suggests any additional questions from students and families, our customer service professionals are available at sat@info.collegeboard.org.