CollegeBoard

Privacy Policy

The College Board recognizes the importance of protecting your privacy rights. You are asked to provide your name and other personally identifying information during the registration process. You have the option to disclose your information for scholarship purposes, Student Search Service®, and score reporting, and to receive communications from the College Board. The College Board takes reasonable measures, in accordance with applicable laws and the policies and guidelines set forth herein, to manage and safeguard any personal information that you provide. Except as described below or as otherwise described in specific sections of the SAT® Registration Booklet, the information that you provide to the College Board is not sold, rented, loaned, or otherwise shared. Please see the College Board's Privacy Policy at http://www.collegeboard.com/html/privacy001.html.

Check Processing

We reserve the right to electronically collect your eligible payment checks, at first presentment and any re-presentment, from the bank account on which the check was drawn. Our receipt of your payment check is your authorization for us to collect the amount of the check electronically by sending the check amount along with the check, routing, and transit account numbers to your bank. Your bank account may be debited as early as the same day we receive your payment. The original check is destroyed and an image is maintained in our records.

Grounds for Score Cancellation

Test Security Issues

The College Board and Educational Testing Service (ETS) strive to report scores that accurately reflect the performance of every test-taker. Accordingly, ETS standards and procedures for administering tests have two primary goals: give all test-takers equivalent opportunities to demonstrate their abilities, and prevent any test-taker from gaining an unfair advantage over others. To promote these objectives, ETS reserves the right to cancel any test scores when, in its judgment: a testing irregularity occurs, there is an apparent discrepancy in a test-taker's identification, a test-taker engages in misconduct or plagiarism, or the score is invalid for another reason. Review of scores by ETS is confidential. When, for any of these reasons, ETS cancels a test score that has already been reported, it notifies score recipients that the score was canceled. It does not disclose the reason for cancellation unless authorized to do so by the test-taker, or in certain cases, when the reason affects a group of test-takers.

Testing irregularities refer to problems with the administration of a test. When they occur, they may affect an individual or groups of test-takers. Such problems include, without limitation: administrative errors (e.g., improper timing or seating, defective materials or equipment); improper access to test content; and other disruptions of test administrations (e.g., natural disasters and other emergencies). When testing irregularities occur, ETS may decline to score the test, or may cancel the test score. When it is appropriate to do so, ETS gives affected test-takers the opportunity to take the test again as soon as possible, without charge.

Identification Discrepancies. When ETS or test center personnel judge that there is a discrepancy in a test-taker's identification, the test-taker may be dismissed from the test center. In addition, ETS may decline to score the test, or may cancel the test score.

Misconduct. When ETS or test center personnel find that there is misconduct in connection with a test, the test-taker may be dismissed from the test center, and ETS may decline to score the test or it may cancel the test score. Repeated minor infractions may result in score cancellation. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• Taking any test questions or essay topics from the testing room in any manner, including memorization, giving them to anyone else, or discussing them with anyone else through any means—including, but not limited to, email, text messages, and the Internet
• Obtaining improper access to the test, a part of the test, or information about the test
• Referring to, looking through, or working on any test, or test section, other than during the testing period for that test or test section
• Using a cell phone—cell phone use is prohibited; students are strongly encouraged not to bring cell phones to the test center. If your phone makes noise, or you are seen using it at any time (including breaks), you may be dismissed immediately, your scores will likely be canceled, and the device may be confiscated for investigative purposes. This policy also applies to any other prohibited digital or electronic device or both, such as a BlackBerry, pager, personal digital assistant, iPod, MP3 player, camera or other photographic equipment, or a separate timer of any kind. We strongly advise you not to bring them.
• Consuming food or drink in the test room
• Leaving the test room without permission
• Leaving the building at any time during the test administration, including during breaks
• Attempting in any manner to remove from the test room any part of a test book or any notes relating to the test
• Attempting to give or receive assistance on the test. Discussion or sharing of test content during the test administration, during breaks, or after the test is prohibited. Communication with other test-takers in any form is not permitted during the test administration.
• Attempting to take the test for someone else
• Creating a disturbance or failing to follow instructions given by test center staff
• Failing to follow any of the test administration regulations contained in the SAT Registration Booklet, indicated on the College Board website, given by the test supervisor, or specified in any materials

Cheating. Although tests are administered under strict supervision and security measures, testing irregularities may sometimes occur. To report any unusual behavior or suspicion of cheating (for example, someone copying from another test-taker, taking a test for someone else, having access to test questions before the exam, or using notes and unauthorized aids), please contact us by phone at (609) 406-5430 between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, by fax at (609) 406-9709, or by email at testsecurity@info.collegeboard.org as soon as possible. All information is held strictly confidential.

Invalid Scores. ETS may also cancel scores if it judges that there is substantial evidence that they are invalid for any other reason. Evidence of invalid scores may include, without limitation: plagiarism, discrepant handwriting, unusual answer patterns, inconsistent performance on different parts of the test, text that is similar to that in other essays, paraphrasing of text from published sources, and essays that do not reflect the independent composition the test is seeking to measure. Before canceling scores pursuant to this paragraph, ETS notifies the test-taker in writing about its concerns, gives the test-taker an opportunity to submit information that addresses the concerns, considers any such information submitted, and offers the test-taker a choice of options. The options include voluntary score cancellation, a free retest, or arbitration in accordance with ETS's standard Arbitration Agreement. The retest option is available only for tests administered in the United States and Canada. The arbitration option is available only for tests administered in the United States. In addition, when ETS notifies the test-taker about concerns, the test-taker is sent a copy of the booklet Why and How Educational Testing Service Questions Test Scores that explains this process in greater detail. Any test-taker may request a copy of this booklet at any time.

Other Testing Information

It is important to note that:

• Parents and guardians are not allowed to escort their children to the testing rooms.
• Students may be tested in the same room as test-takers of all grades and ages.
• Test-takers are not released early for any reasons other than sudden illness or dismissal for infractions.
• Test-takers are not allowed to skip sections of the test. Doing so could result in score cancellation, delays, or both.

Score Reporting

General Information. Each time you take an SAT Program test, the scores are added to your permanent SAT Program record; a copy of this record is provided to you. If you provide your high school information at the time of registration, a copy of your record is sent to your high school.

Your score report contains the six most recent SAT and six most recent SAT Subject Test reportable scores. You cannot choose to have certain scores removed from your record. If you do not want your test scored at all, read about score cancellation at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/cancel.html.

The report you receive and the reports received by colleges and your high school contain scores that have been converted to the College Board 200-800 scale for all SAT Program tests except the English Language Proficiency Test™ (ELPT™) which is reported on a scale of 901-999. This test was last administered in January 2005 and is no longer offered.

The College Board does not use either your raw score or your reported scaled score by itself, or in combination with any other information, to predict in any way your future academic performance at any postsecondary institution. However, the College Board does provide assistance to individual colleges and universities to help them use SAT Program test scores, high school record, and other relevant information in making appropriate admissions and placement decisions.

Test scores are the property of the College Board. The College Board may use scores and information you provide for research purposes. Other than as indicated below, or unless legally compelled (for example, subject to a subpoena), no personally identifying information is released without your consent.

Score Choice™. Score Choice is an option that allows you to choose which scores you send to selected colleges for admissions purposes, as well as scores you send to selected scholarship programs. Please note that different colleges and scholarship programs use SAT scores in different ways. We've collected SAT score-use practices from every college or scholarship program that chose to provide the requested information in order to help you make an informed choice about the scores you send.

Please note:

• The SAT score-use practices of specific colleges and scholarship programs referenced in Score Choice materials are based on information provided to us by each participating college or scholarship program.
• The description of a particular SAT score-use practice in the Score Choice materials might not include every aspect of how a college or scholarship program uses a student's score for admissions decisions. Additionally, SAT score-use practices for a particular college or scholarship program may change periodically and may not be automatically updated in Score Choice. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the college or scholarship program to which you are sending SAT scores to confirm its SAT score-use practice.
• Where you send your scores, and which scores you send, are important decisions that you should research and consider carefully and discuss with your parents and guidance counselors. While we have made available the information on score-use practices provided to us by participating colleges and scholarship programs to assist you in this process, we are not responsible for the accuracy of the information or the consequences of your decisions.
• You and your high school will continue to receive reports containing all of your scores.

For Students Sending Scores to College and University Systems. In the case of certain college and university systems, submitting your score to one school means that other schools within that system will also have access to your score. Please note, however, that if you are applying to more than one school within a college or university system, it is still important for you to send your SAT scores to each individual school.

If you are not sure whether the specific school you are applying to is part of such a system, contact the school's admissions office.

Scholarships. Most of the scholarships available from the college and scholarship programs listed in the SAT Registration Booklet are restricted to U.S. residents or children of employees of the scholarship sponsors. For more information, contact the colleges and scholarship programs directly. The SAT Program automatically reports scores to certain U.S. government and state scholarship programs.

If you are a citizen of the United States and a resident of Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, or West Virginia, and your current mailing address is outside the United States, or you are using an APO/FPO address, contact scholarship and guidance programs or government-sponsored agencies in these states directly for information on how to be considered for a scholarship.

You can stop the automatic reporting of your test scores. If you do not want your scores released to the U.S. government or if you attend school or live in one of these states and do not want your scores sent to the state scholarship or guidance program, write to College Board SAT Program, Attention: Confidentiality, P. O. Box 025505, Miami, Florida 33102 by no later than 15 days after the test date, or by January 2, 2009, for Massachusetts (or within 15 days after the test date if testing after January).

State Scholarship Programs. If you are from one of the states listed below, your scores are routinely sent to the state's scholarship program, unless you tell us otherwise. Scores are sent for all test-takers except for seventh and eighth grade students in Kentucky and seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students in Missouri who test between September 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009; all juniors in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington who test between September 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009; and all seniors in Washington who test between September and December 2008. In Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, scores are sent following the junior year and again in the middle of the senior year. In West Virginia and Tennessee, scores are sent for all seniors who tested during high school through January 2009.

Releasing Your Scores to the New York State Scholarship Program (NYSSP). This program requires that New York State students who wish to be considered for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships and Regents Scholarships of Cornell University on the basis of their SAT scores take the test before November 1, 2008. The latest SAT administration that meets this deadline is October 4, 2008. The New York State Standardized Testing Law requires that you specifically authorize the sending of all reports. Your SAT scores and other information from your record are sent to the NYSSP if you authorize the release of your scores at the time that you apply for a scholarship. To do that, you must answer "yes" and sign the score release statement on page four of the scholarship application. Scholarship application forms are sent by the State Education Department to principals of all high schools in New York State in December or January. If you follow these procedures, there is no fee for sending reports to the NYSSP.

The College Board releases to the NYSSP the names, addresses, and other identifying information of seniors who registered to take the SAT prior to November 1, 2008, who are New York State residents, and who apply for scholarship(s). This procedure facilitates the matching of student files so that scores for all students who authorized their release are sent. If you do not want your name and address released for this purpose, notify College Board SAT Program, NYS Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 025505, Miami, Florida 33102.

Research and Reporting. Your test scores and the background information you provide about yourself (not including your name, street address, social security number, or email address) may be used in research or in aggregate reports about groups of students. In some cases—for example, if a validity study is done for the college in which you have enrolled—all your scores and background information may be included in the study even if you did not request that the SAT Program send your scores to the college. Your scores may also be reported to your district or state for educational purposes. For more information about the guidelines on the uses of College Board test scores and related data, ask your counselor or visit the reports and research section of our website at http://www.collegeboard.com/research.

Procedures for Keeping Scores on File. Your scores are kept indefinitely, unless you tested before entering the ninth grade. If you test in the seventh or eighth grade, your scores are removed from your file at the end of the year that you tested. If you don't want your scores removed, you must let us know before the end of June of the year you tested. Talent Search Program candidates should read the SAT Registration Booklet for more information.

Your test scores and your responses to the SAT Questionnaire are maintained on active file by the SAT Program until June, one year after your class graduates from high school. If you tested after high school, this information is kept on active file for a full year beyond the year in which you tested. After that time, these data are placed in an archival file. Test scores can be obtained from the archival file indefinitely.

Reporting Scores More Than One Year After Your High School Graduation. Scores are usually archived one year after high school graduation or your last account activity. To report archived scores, provide your current name and address, your name and address at the time you tested, your sex, your date of birth, and the year you tested. Learn how to send old scores at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/sending/old.html. Scores from tests taken before 2002 are subject to a retrieval fee and additional charges. The fee covers the cost of looking up your scores and is charged whether or not scores can be located. Other charges are refunded if your scores are not retrieved.

Official score reports sent to colleges five or more years after a test date are accompanied by a message explaining that they may be less valid predictors of college academic performance than more recent scores would be. This message also notifies colleges that for SAT Subject Tests™, knowledge of the subject may change given additional study in the area, and scores may become less valid predictors within a shorter time period.

Additional Information for Students Testing in California and New York State

The California Education Code requires that you be given certain information concerning the purposes of the tests, property rights of the test subject and test agency to the test scores, procedures for releasing score reports, and score interpretation.

Statistical information related to the use of test scores in predicting future grade point averages (GPAs) must be provided to test-takers prior to the administration of the test or coinciding with the initial reporting of test scores.

The New York State Standardized Testing Law requires that certain information concerning the purposes of the test, property rights of the test-taker and test agency to the test scores, test fairness and equity, procedures for releasing score reports and for reviewing challenges about test questions, and score interpretation be provided to test-takers along with the Registration Form or score report.

The information for both California and New York State test-takers is furnished in the SAT Registration Booklet and in the material included with score reports. Complete descriptions of the content of the tests, along with information on test preparation and sample questions, are provided in the SAT Preparation Booklet™ and SAT Subject Tests Preparation Booklet, which are available without charge from school offices to students who plan to register for these tests.

The College Board offers two SAT answer-reporting services, the Question-and-Answer Service (QAS) and the Student Answer Service (SAS). Learn how to request the QAS at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/qas.html and the SAS at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/sas.html. In addition, students who took the SAT in California in December 2008 can review the test questions under secure conditions at the ETS Western Field Office in Concord, California. Call (925) 808-2000 for details.

Predicting College Grades

The primary purpose of the SAT is to provide information to college admissions staff that helps them evaluate student applications. The College Board recommends that score recipients use scores in combination with other information such as grades and courses taken in determining admission. Results of research conducted using data from 110 colleges show that SAT test scores, in combination with a student's high school grade point average, predict college freshman GPA more accurately than either SAT scores or high school GPA alone.

For all college freshmen in the study (N=151,316), the predictive validity of an optimally weighted combination of SAT scores and high school GPA is .62. The correlation between the critical reading section score and freshman GPA is .48; between the mathematics section score and freshman GPA, .47; and between the writing section score and freshman GPA, .51. For all three sections (critical reading, mathematics, and writing), the correlation with freshman GPA is .53, while the correlation between high school GPA and freshman GPA is .54. The combination of scores and high school GPA raised the correlation .09 over scores alone, and .08 over high school GPA. For males, the correlation between the combination of scores and high school GPA with freshman GPA is .59, an increase of .09 over scores alone and .07 over high school GPA. For females, the correlation between the combination of scores and high school GPA with freshman GPA is .65, an increase of .07 over scores alone and .11 over high school GPA.

All correlations are adjusted for restriction of range, so that the full range of scores and high school GPA are the same as for the national college-bound seniors cohort.

Procedures to Ensure Fairness and Equity

All new SAT Program test questions and complete new editions of the tests are reviewed by many individuals, including committees whose members are drawn from all regions of the United States. These reviews help identify and eliminate any wording or content that might be offensive or inappropriate for particular groups of students—such as racial or ethnic groups, or men or women. Assessment staff members ensure that the test as a whole includes references to men, women, and individuals from varied racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Statistical procedures are used to identify questions that are harder for a group of students to answer correctly than would be expected from their performance on the test.

Relationship of SAT Scores to Family Income

The correlation of SAT scores and student-reported family income for two recent years was found to be approximately .23 and .29, which is consistent with general research findings on the relationship of educational achievement to family income level. Although average SAT scores tend to be higher for students from higher-income families, students from every income level, as reported on the SAT Questionnaire, obtain the full range of SAT scores. Furthermore, many students from low-income families do well on the test. For seniors graduating in 2000, one-third of the students with reported family income at or below $30,000 obtained scores above the national average. It is important to note that standardized admissions testing may reflect some inequities that exist in K–12 education and socio-economic differences across the nation. Students who have not had the advantage of a rigorous and consistent K–12 education may not score as well on standardized admissions tests.