Out with the old and in with the new: the SAT edition
The game is changing. After Jan. 23, the College Board will be using a new format of the SAT exam, one that resembles features of the ACT exam.
The new SAT will be first administered on March 5. In an announcement event in Austin, TX in March 2014, College Board President David Coleman revealed the remodel of the test.
“While we build on the best of the past, we commit today that the redesigned SAT will be more focused and useful, more clear and open than ever before,” Coleman said.
For many, the new SAT offers an opportunity to showcase the skills that students learn chiefly in school curriculum.
“I wanted to have more chances to take the new (SAT),” Jordan Jomsky, junior, said. “I am excited to not have to memorize vocabulary, and instead do more things that we actually practice in English class like evidence support and analysis.”
This is not the first time the College Board has changed the format of the test. In 2005, the scoring range of the SAT was changed from 1600 to 2400. This added on an 800-point writing section, which includes grammar questions and an essay in addition to the reading and math sections. Now, the College Board is reverting back to its previous scoring methods, which tracks only reading and mathematics scores, making the essay optional.
However, while the old SAT’s reading and writing sections are separate, the new SAT’s reading and writing components will be combined in a single 800-point section. The math section is another 800-point section, making the total score range 200-1600. The essay is a separate component that will require 50 minutes, twice as long as time allotted for the old SAT. Two essay readers will each give students a score of 1-4 in each of three categories: reading, analysis, and writing.
This school year, the fall 2015 Practice SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) was also newly modified in alignment to these new SAT standards. In each of the reading, writing and math components, 38 questions contributed to a total possible score of 1520, with a 760-point reading and writing section, and a 760-point math section. NMSQT scores can be calculated by adding up the number of questions correct in each section and multiplying the sum by two. The resulting highest total is 228, unlike past tests’ 240 qualifying score, so scales for scholarship qualifications have yet to be determined.
In addition to test changes, Coleman revealed a partnership with Khan Academy to supply new SAT test prep materials online, targeting those who ordinarily cannot afford test preparation classes offered by companies such as Elite, Princeton Review or Kaplan.
“For too long, there’s been a well-known imbalance between students who could afford test-prep courses and those who couldn’t. We’re thrilled to collaborate with the College Board to level the playing field,” Sal Khan, founder and executive director of Khan Academy, said.
More than 100 videos on Khan Academy’s website for the new SAT demonstrate “basic” and “harder” examples of various concepts on the test as well as give students introductions to the SAT test format.
“I’ve just used (Khan Academy) to get practice and to get feedback on the answers I put in….The test prep material that they provide is very adequate for preparing,” Richard Qiu, freshman, said. “It’s very convenient and all you have to do is click a few buttons, and you can get a practice English test or a practice Math test.”
The ultimate effects and reactions to the new SAT will be revealed after March 5. In the meantime, students are trying to be optimistic.
“I was more unsure when I took the PSAT for the new SAT, but I scored well. And then I was more sure when I took the old SAT, but I didn’t score as well. So I’m not quite sure,” Amaan Kazi, junior, said. “I think overall that the new SAT is more focused and it’s probably more fair to people who think that essay writing should not be part of the picture. I’d definitely say it’s more specific and now people can choose what they want.”
