Normal Distribution Part 1 The article by Atkinson and Geiser (2015) titled “The Big Problem with the New SAT” that was published on 4th May 2015 in the New York Times indicates that the normal distribution curve is used to rank students based on their SAT scores. In particular, the authors assert that the College Board designs the SAT exams with an intent to achieve the “bell-shaped” curve that shows a majority of the most students’ scores in the middle and less students at the higher and lower ends of the steeply declining curve. Mainly, the examiners use “distractions” that complicate multiple-choice questions and eliminate questions that many students would score correctly. In this regard, Atkinson and Geiser (2015) assert that these tests are biased as they emphasize on negligible differences in test scores that have no effect on the academic achievement of students in college. Based on the article, we use sample data from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) to examine whether the SAT scores are normally distributed. Figure 1 shows the distribution of students’ average mathematics SAT scores for the period 1986-2014. Figure 1. A histogram showing the distribution of average Mathematics SAT Score for the period 1986-2014 …show more content…
However, this could be attributed to the use of average mathematics SAT data rather than SAT scores for individual students. In addition, the available data does not comprise a sizeable sample. It is evident that the frequencies are low at the extreme ends of the chart and high in the middle. In this regard, the bell-shaped distribution is tenable. However, further evaluation using the appropriate data is necessary. Overall, these findings affirm the views of Atkinson and Geiser (2015) regarding the norm-referenced SAT tests. Specifically, it is unfair to rank students and determine whether they qualify to enter college by using their SAT