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The first Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was primarily multiple-choice and was
administered on June 23, 1926 to 8,040 candidates - 60% of whom were male. The
test consisted of nine sub-tests: Definitions, Arithmetical Problems,
Classification, Artificial Language, Antonyms, Number Series, Analogies,
Logical Inference, and Paragraph Reading, and was given in 353 locations in 318
centers. Each candidate received a practice booklet with samples of all tests
one week before the examination to become familiar with the tests. Most men
who took the first SAT (26%) applied to Yale University, and most women (27%)
to Smith College.
Here are some sample questions from the 1926 SAT:
Sub-Test Two
In each line the numbers are arranged in accordance with some particular
scheme. Write in the spaces at the margin the two numbers that should come
next. The first two are answered correctly.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 & 7 |
| | | 13 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 & 1 |
| | | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | & |
| | | 1 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 25 | & |
| | | 5 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 15 | & |
| | | 1/16 | 1/8 | 3/16 | 1/4 | 5/16 | & |
| | | 121 | 100 | 81 | 64 | 49 | & |
| | | 22 | 23 | 21 | 24 | 20 | & |
| | | .0001 | .0004 | .0009 | .0016 | .0025 | & |
| | | 1/8 | 1/8 | 1/4 | 3/4 | 3 | & |
Sub-Test Four
Each group contains six words. Three of these are related to each other in
some definite way. Indicated which three are thus MOST CLOSELY RELATED by
inserting the numbers of these words in the spaces at the right. The first two
are answered correctly.
| doll | ring | flower | drum | top | shoe | 1 4 &
5 |
| bean | carrot | potato | beet | lettuce | cabbage | 2 3 & 4 |
| ace | hears | spades | cards | trumps | diamonds | & |
| snow | ski | slide | sled | toboggan | ice | & |
| stool | table | chair | desk | box | sofa | & |
| fly | oar | swim | propeller | scale | fin | & |
| day | night | star | pumpkin | lamp | sun | & |
| wage | fee | money | salary | wealth | legacy | & |
| poverty | honesty | beauty | diligence | courage | conceit | & |
| organ | piano | violin | banjo | cornet | drum | & |
| tennis | golf | baseball | archery | chess | football | & |
| ore | coal | rain | stove | wind | water-fall | & |
| clerk | sin | bin | plant | cloth | tin | & |
| butcher | stoker | surgeon | milliner | lawyer | minister | & |
| Cuba | Asia | Alaska | Africa | Russia | Australia | & |
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