The College Board, the nonprofit behind the SAT, announced Thursday it is introducing an “adversity score” to counterbalance the higher scores typically earned by wealthier students.
“There are a number of amazing students who may have scored less [on the SAT] but have accomplished more,” said David Coleman, the CEO of the College Board. “We can’t sit on our hands and ignore the disparities of wealth reflected in the SAT.”
Coleman told the Associated Press students’ test scores need to be considered in light of the adversity they face.
The adversity score uses 15 factors including crime rates, high school quality, and neighborhood poverty to determine the hardships test-takers have overcome to achieve their score. The score will not include race as one of its factors. The average student would receive a 50 with scores ranging from 1 to 100.
The new score would not be available to students but would be sent to college administrators.
The College Board ran a test of the new score last year with 50 colleges. It plans on testing it again this year with 150 colleges and then use the score broadly the year after.
The SAT, along with rival ACT, is one of the top two exams colleges use to evaluate applicants.
In March, the Justice Department recently indicted 50 people in its largest college admissions prosecution. Actress Felicity Huffman, who was involved in the admissions scandal, pleaded guilty Monday to helping her daughter get into college by paying a fixer to change answers for her on the SAT exam.
