Imminent changes to the SAT will simplify the test-taking process

By Billie Nagy

If you are a part of the class of 2017 or later, then you’re about to be very happy. Recently, David Coleman, the president of the College Board, announced a “fundamental rethinking of the SAT” which will take effect in spring 2016 (essentially starting with this year’s Freshman class). The reason for the upcoming changes to the SAT, Coleman points out, is that both the SAT and the ACT had “become disconnected from the work of our high schools.” Here is a list of the changes and what the new SAT test will offer:

1. There will be no penalty for guessing wrong.

2. The new SAT will feature no obscure vocabulary words. Instead, the SAT will have words that are more common in college courses, for example, the word “synthesis.”

3. The math questions will no longer be scattered or pulled from many different topics. Instead, they will focus more narrowly on topics such as linear equations, functions, and proportional thinking.

4. (Sadly) using a calculator may not be allowed on some of the new math sections.

5. The new SAT will be available on both paper and computers.

6. Instead of the highest score being 2,400, the new highest score will be 1,600.

7. 800 is the new top score on math, and 800 is also the new top score on what will be now be called “evidence-based reading and writing.”

Even with all of the upcoming changes, “the new SAT will not quell all criticism of standardized tests,” Coleman says. Today, it is evident that much research and tests have shown that high school grades are a better predictor of how one’s college success will be rather than standardized test scores. It is also clear that for many students, test taking is simply challenging. As Coleman says, the tests are “filled with unproductive anxiety,” and a lot of the material teachers teach, and work students do, is usually not a fair measurement compared to the tests.

Apparently, “only 20 percent of teachers see the tests as a fair measure of the work their students have done,” he says. In the end, it’s only a matter of time until the changes begin taking effect, so it is up to you to make sure you are aware of these changes and to prepare for them in advance for when the time comes, so that you can do the best you possibly can. Good luck!