Balance (1965 - 1990)
Score Decline
In 1963, the mean test scores on the mathematical and verbal sections of the SAT began to decline. This decline in mean scores continued throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s. The decline in test scores precipitated a general social concern that American youth were not performing as well as youths in previous decades or as well as youths in other countries.
Quick facts about the SAT score decline:
- Mean scores fell from a high of 478 on the verbal section of the exam in 1963 to a mean of 429 in 1977.
- Mean scores fell from a high of 502 on the mathematical section of the exam in 1963 to a mean of 471 in 1977.
- The scores dropped roughly 50 points on the verbal section and 30 points on the mathematical section between 1963 and 1977.
- Although the SAT scores for both the verbal and mathematical sections of the exam were recentered in 1995, scores for both sections continued to decline in the early 1980s.
The College Board organized an Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test Score Decline in October 1975 to study the test score decline and assist in understanding it. The panel consisted of 21 members, including Willard Wirtz as chairman and Benjamin Bloom, among others.
The Educational Testing Service helped to underwrite the cost of the panel, contributing approximately one-third of the expenses. The College Board contributed the remaining two-thirds of the panel's expenses.
The College Board published the panel's report, On Further Examination in 1977.
The Advisory Panel concluded that there were actually two parts to the drop in the SAT scores, or two separate score declines.
