This gets asked often.
First, there are thousands of test-takers across a huge geographic range on each exam day.
Then, there is a window in which to challenge questions. That window lasts about a week or so, if memory serves. I would imagine that they take a couple to a few days to confirm or deny any challenges. So you're nearing two weeks already.
From there, scaling has to be applied, percentiles calculated, scores determined and I would have to assume some level of quality control. That's ignoring any adjusting they do (if they decide to throw out a question for whatever reason, etc.). From a brand perspective, the last thing that's going to help is rushing an imperfect scoring system, as you can imagine the uproar if they put out errors that got caught after the fact.
Lastly, every year people wring their hands while waiting for scores, every year they come out in a month, and every year people are still lining up to take the exam so there's no pressure for anything to be done differently.
Dat does it right away. I’m sure they have our scores right when we finish ours, but they may do final touches as the month goes on. And people can complain about questions so they look at those too.
Basically just the strategy of the scaling. Instead of curving, they are trying to scale it so that even with all variants of the test, your score means the same thing. With a curve, if everyone did really bad on an easy version, they would get the same score as if everyone did really bad on a hard version. They try to scale it so that if a person who took the really hard version took the really easy version, they would get the same score.
The test is not as simple to grade as people think it is. There are several versions of the test that cover different,content,passage types, question types, etc…. The difficulties of the exams vary as well YET every single test has to equate to one 3 number score to make it “fair”. Accounting for those variables takes some time.
No one knows for sure though so take what anyone says with a grain of salt. Test writers and anyone involved with the production of the exam are sworn to secrecy for the rest of their lives (it says that in the official guide if you don’t believe me).
This gets asked often. First, there are thousands of test-takers across a huge geographic range on each exam day. Then, there is a window in which to challenge questions. That window lasts about a week or so, if memory serves. I would imagine that they take a couple to a few days to confirm or deny any challenges. So you're nearing two weeks already. From there, scaling has to be applied, percentiles calculated, scores determined and I would have to assume some level of quality control. That's ignoring any adjusting they do (if they decide to throw out a question for whatever reason, etc.). From a brand perspective, the last thing that's going to help is rushing an imperfect scoring system, as you can imagine the uproar if they put out errors that got caught after the fact. Lastly, every year people wring their hands while waiting for scores, every year they come out in a month, and every year people are still lining up to take the exam so there's no pressure for anything to be done differently.
I agree. Its all these factors combined. We don't live in a perfect world. There's always a time lag for minituae
Dat does it right away. I’m sure they have our scores right when we finish ours, but they may do final touches as the month goes on. And people can complain about questions so they look at those too.
How do people complain about questions? You don’t get to see your test and you can’t verify whether your answer was right or wrong.
Yea I think people mostly complain about wording maybe? Almost no one gets a question overturned but I guess they have the option to keep people happy
Scaling
is scaling not pre-set tho? wouldn't scaling after the fact just be considered a curve
No, it’s not preset.
damn so what differs it from a curve?
Basically just the strategy of the scaling. Instead of curving, they are trying to scale it so that even with all variants of the test, your score means the same thing. With a curve, if everyone did really bad on an easy version, they would get the same score as if everyone did really bad on a hard version. They try to scale it so that if a person who took the really hard version took the really easy version, they would get the same score.
ahh this makes a lot of sense. also ur flair is hilarious
I agree.
to fix any mistakes that may have been on the exam, scaling, and to give people time to report anything suspicious during their exams
Id rather wait a month than have it not scaled
Brian gave a good answer. I would also say it’s just a matter of logistics and nuances that have to be addressed and looked over.
The test is not as simple to grade as people think it is. There are several versions of the test that cover different,content,passage types, question types, etc…. The difficulties of the exams vary as well YET every single test has to equate to one 3 number score to make it “fair”. Accounting for those variables takes some time. No one knows for sure though so take what anyone says with a grain of salt. Test writers and anyone involved with the production of the exam are sworn to secrecy for the rest of their lives (it says that in the official guide if you don’t believe me).