Another SAT has come and gone. Today hundreds of students faced a sphinx’s riddle and crossed their fingers. It’s a moment of doom or success: doom that leads to the stress of taking another test or success that leads to… well also more stress. The stress of finding a way to make an application look less like the exaggerations of a desperate student. Although the SAT is now a test most students take in an attempt to improve their application, the test did not exist until after World War I.

Many colleges had their own entrance exams but there was not a standard test given to all students. In an attempt to make the exams more uniform a group of university presidents founded the College Entrance Examination Board, now known simply as College Board.

The organization was founded in the early 1900s. One of the first test given to students by College Board was graded on a very precise scale: Excellent, Good, Doubtful, Poor, and Very Poor. This test however was quickly discarded and replaced with the Scholastic Aptitude Test. This was the first actual SAT.

The test that we all know and love was based off of an IQ test given to soldiers during World War I. Since then the test has been officially renamed SAT due to controversy over testing the “aptitude” of students.  The exam has gone several other changes including a recent grade scale change: from confusing to confusing.

The test many students took today has inspired novels that help teach useful vocabulary, including one about vampires, as well as a play. The test certainly has a big impact on high school students’ lives. For some it can be a saving grace and a path to scholarships. Or it can be the fury of the underworld sent to torment the minds of others. Whatever the case, this test is an important, albeit mentally exhausting, experience.