For generations, the SAT has been one of the most recognizable milestones in American education. But as the exam approaches its 100th anniversary, national data show a long-term decline in student performance — a trend that raises important questions for New York, where standardized testing continues to play a major role in K-12 education and college admissions.
A new analysis from Pew Research Center found that average SAT and ACT scores have generally fallen over the last several decades, even as the tests themselves have evolved significantly.
From the 1966-67 school year through 2014-15, average SAT scores dropped from 1,059 to 1,006 out of 1,600. Reading scores experienced the steepest decline, falling nearly 50 points during that period, while math scores remained comparatively stable.
Since a major redesign of the SAT in 2016, average scores in both reading and writing and math have generally declined again, particularly between 2016-17 and 2022-23.
The ACT tells a similar story. Average composite scores fell from 20.8 in 1994-95 to 19.5 in 2022-23, with declines across English, math, reading and science.
For New York, the findings arrive amid ongoing debates about academic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. State education officials have spent several years grappling with learning loss, chronic absenteeism and widening achievement gaps that emerged or worsened during the pandemic years.
The SAT carries particular weight in New York because it remains one of the most commonly used college admissions tests among students seeking admission to the State University of New York system and private colleges throughout the Northeast.
The timing is also notable because many colleges that temporarily adopted test-optional admissions policies during the pandemic are reconsidering those decisions. Some highly selective institutions have already reinstated testing requirements, increasing the importance of exam performance for college-bound students.
At the same time, education experts caution against viewing declining scores as a simple measure of declining student ability.
The SAT population has expanded dramatically over time, bringing in students from a wider range of academic backgrounds than those who took the exam in its earliest decades. The test itself has also changed repeatedly, including a move to digital, adaptive testing in 2024 that tailors questions based on a student’s performance during the exam.
Nationally, public support for standardized testing remains strong despite those changes. According to Pew, 71% of American adults surveyed in 2022 said colleges should consider standardized test scores when making admissions decisions, while 85% said scores should be at least a minor factor in the process.
For New York schools, the broader challenge may be less about the tests themselves and more about what the scores suggest: a continuing struggle to ensure students leave high school prepared for college-level reading, writing and math in an increasingly competitive admissions environment.
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