There has been much discussion about the sharp decline of SAT scores. Some (including its sponsor, the College Board) attribute the decline to an increase in the number of test-takers. Others say that the decline can be attributed by the increased diversity of the test-takers, meaning that when more low-scoring students take the tests, the scores go down.

Carol Burris took the time to review the data and come up with a data-driven discussion of what really happened.

The bottom line, she writes, is that the score decline was large and significant:

SAT scores for the Class of 2015 were the lowest since the test was revised and re-normed in 2005. The score drop in one year was 7 points — a drop that Inside Higher Ed characterized as significant.

She says there was very minimal increase in the number of students taking the tests.

Between 2014 and 2015:

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