Wealthy students are 13x more likely to ace the SAT. The test turns 100 this year

In June 1926, the SAT exam was first administered to 8,000 high school students who hoped to attend elite universities .

The SAT has undergone many changes since its original form 100 years ago , ranging from how the test is administrated to what kinds of subject matter it covers.

One particularly big shift came around 2000, when about 280 colleges and universities allowed applicants to apply without submitting scores for the SAT or the ACT, another common standardized test.

Today, approximately 86% of colleges and universities are test-optional.

Whether the SAT accurately measures students’ academic strengths continues to be debated .

Some research shows that the test offers a strong indication of students’ skills, knowledge and potential for college success .

Other research points to fundamental flaws of SAT and ACT testing, including that students from higher-income families tend to have higher SAT scores .

The test, after all, costs money to take, and wealthier families can afford tutors and prep classes.

Wealthier students also typically attend well-funded public or private high schools.

As a professor of education , I think that understanding the history of the SAT is helpful to understanding the current debate surrounding it.

The COVID-19 pandemic offered an experiment for universities that hadn’t already made the SAT optional for applicants.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press A new kind of exam The SAT was developed in the 1920s by the College Board, an organization founded in 1900 by the presidents of 12 leading universities to standardize the college admissions process.

At the time, each university had its own variation of entrance exam.

These tests were in essay format and written and graded by professors.