Some minorities may do worse on the SAT because of income bias (see
below); in general, minorities have lower incomes than whites do.
The SAT tried to bridge the racial gap in 1970 by the lame gesture of adding
one reading passage per test concerning minorities. The new test tends to include
a passage by or that references a minority. (How that’s more than a Band-Aid
solution is beyond us.)
Income Bias
Richer kids tend to do better on the SAT than poorer kids. This may be the most
difficult bias to overcome; it is certainly the most blatant. First, low-income
students frequently do not have the educational opportunities that more
privileged students have. Another very widespread problem is SAT coaching.
Many people who can afford it shell out about $900 to take an SAT prep course.
This gives those students an advantage. However, you, the informed consumer,
paid only $14.95 for this book and will have your score, and your consciousness,
raised immensely.
One of the College Board’s main goals in redesigning the SAT for 2016 was
to level the playing field by eliminating some of the more esoteric and
specialized vocabulary. It has been argued that testing words like anodyne and
pusillanimous serves little function other than to reward those who grew up in
households where those words were used. It still remains to be seen whether this
change will affect the gap in scores between wealthier and poorer test takers.
A TEST TAKER’S GUIDE TO PROCTORS
SAT proctors tend to be selected haphazardly, and for the most part they do not
give a flying poo about your life or your problems. They’re paid only a pittance,
not enough to make them care.
Sure we’re being harsh, but we’ve interviewed students at many schools, and
we have heard some nasty horror stories about incompetent and ignorant
proctors. On each test date, students across the nation go in to take the SAT in
what they hope will be a fair environment. Instead, some of them must cope with
bumbling idiots who forget to read instructions, eliminate break time, talk while
you work, or give incorrect responses to student questions (responses like “No,