American colleges and universities use SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Tests) scores as a key factor in determining admission. A student's family income could play a major role in scoring well on the College Board-administered test.
Students' average SAT scores increased as their parental incomes rose, according to calculations by the National Center for Fair and Opening Testing and derived from the College Board. The wealthiest students, whose parents' income is more than $200,000, averaged 400 points better on the tests than those whose parents made $20,000 or less.
A number of factors play into the significant difference, according to The Wall Street Journal. More affluent parents can place their kids in better public schools, or enroll them in private schools. Parents with higher incomes usually have a college degree, and can better afford college for their children. Wealthier students also have greater access to SAT prep courses, but those may only bump scores by a few points.
SAT scores remained stagnate and have dropped by 21 points overall since 2006, according to FairTest. The score gaps between racial groups have also grown significantly. All groups except Asians have seen their scores drop since 2006, more for the other minority groups.
The College Board revised the SAT test format again for the spring of 2016. The test will make the essay section optional and revert to the old perfect score of 1600. The test will also drop the "more arcane vocabulary words" and cut the range of math topics, according to The Wall Street Journal.
