The authors attempt to show how the dissemination of uncorrected state Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores may have created an inaccurate public and governmental perception of the variation in educational quality. Their research demonstrates that comparing state SAT averages is ill-advised unless these ratings are corrected for compositional and…

The impact of participation rate and nine educational/demographic variables on state mean Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for the class of 1985 was studied. It is misleading to compare scores on standardized tests without considering proportions of potential examinees taking the test, and the SAT needs to be renormed. (SLD)