SAT inaccuracies have minor KSU effect

Derek Lenehan

The recent accuracy errors in SAT test scoring have had a minimal effect on Kent State enrollment, university officials said.

Of the tests that were incorrectly graded, only three were sent to Kent State, Admissions Director Nancy Dellavecchia said. Nationally, the inaccuracies affected roughly 10 percent of the 495,000 SAT tests taken in October.

“We only had three students with lowered scores, and they all had higher scores from previous tests,” she said.

Dellavecchia said the College Board seems to be taking corrective measures, and the incident was likely to be a one-time event.

“I got a personal phone call from the College Board. They said, ‘This is what happened, you have these students.’ They were concerned about it,” she said. “I think they’re going to check their scores several times now.”

There were 4,411 tests incorrectly given a lower score, while roughly 600 were scored higher than they should have been, the College Board reported. Most of the errors were within 100 points on the 2,400 point score range, though some deviated as far as 450 points. The College Board said they will not correct the tests that were incorrectly scored higher.

Chuck Rickard, associate vice president for enrollment services, said the errors were concerning.

“Anytime there is a breach in test security, it concerns us. We need accurate test scores,” he said. “When a mistake like that is made, no one is served well. Not the individual or the institution they are applying to.”

Any students with a slightly lowered score wouldn’t need to be too concerned, Rickard said.

“Test scores are just part of the equation for a solid admissions decision, though they are not the main ingredient. High school GPA, class rank and scores in core classes are all important,” he said.

The first SAT tests since the inaccuracies were discovered will be taken Saturday.

Contact academic affairs reporter Derek Lenehan at [email protected].