On March 5, 2016 The CollegeBoard will begin administering their redesigned SAT. This test will see a variety of differences from the test that is currently in place and marks the most significant changes to the test since 2005 when an essay was added.
Writing is one of the major changes the 2016 test will see. That essay will now be an optional component of the exam. Also the time allowed for the essay will increase from 25 minutes to 50. The ACT has offered an optional essay for years and I’ve generally found that colleges like to see an essay score, so at this point I’ll generally be recommending students attempt the SAT essay. The CollegeBoard also promises that the nature of these essays will be more closely aligned with typical college writing assignments. Students will read passages and be asked to respond to those passages in their essays.
The redesigned reading portion of the test will work to assess a student’s knowledge of more relevant words that what was in the previous test, where obscure vocabulary was often found. The reading test will also task students with demonstrating their ability to use and synthesize data from a variety of sources.
The math portion of the tests will seek to add relevancy. The CollegeBoard wants to focus on what they feel are the most essential areas of math. These include Problem Solving and Data Analysis, the Heart of Algebra, and Passport to Advanced Math. The questions within the assessment will be rooted in real-world contexts and will be more related to the kinds of problems one might find in college or their career.
The nature of the questions in all sections of the tests will strive to allow a student to apply their external knowledge of science and social studies as well. The use of the United State’s founding documents will play a key role in questions related to reading and writing. Other texts that relate to relevant, on-going topics in freedom, justice, and human dignity will also be used.
Lastly, the scoring of test will be change. Gone is the SAT’s old penalty for guessing--or wrong answers won’t deduct points like they did previously. The writing will also no longer be scored as a 200-800. Much of the writing skills assessment will be incorporated into the other verbal score and the optional essay will be scored on a scale from 2-8. This should help eliminate the confusion the writing caused when it too was graded on a scale from 200-800.
The new SAT will also provide subscores within each section. These will be a way for users to get a closer look at a student’s strengths and weaknesses within the test rather than the broad snapshot the section scores graded 200--800 provide.
To coincide with the test’s redesign, the CollegeBoard has announced a partnership with Kahn Academy. This appears to be an excellent tool for SAT prep especially when used with those subscores. Instead of just evaluating intelligence, this redesigned test should give colleges and families a better idea of how well their students will be able to compete in the real-world and work force. That insight has been a long time coming.
