The cloud of mystery that surrounds the new SAT has finally begun to lift after the College Board announced some changes that they want to implement in Spring 2016. These changes are still said to be based on The Common Core Standards. Fortunately for students no matter changes incur the SAT will remain “standardized”. This means any student can learn to do well on regardless of what school he or she goes to or what state he or she lives in.
Change is always scary but no matter what happens in 2016 the standardization of the test will remain the same. After all colleges use the SAT to compare students from all walks of life. Although no one is exactly sure what the new SAT will look like, below are 12 of the proposed changes.
1. The essay will be optional: This may make students happy but keep in mind that if a college admissions counselor is on the fence about a student’s application, they use the writing section as the determining factor. We will still show students how to get a perfect essay score.
2. Scoring: It will return to 1600 (removing the writing section) See above.
3. Two formats: The test will be on paper and computer.
Reduced Time: The test will be a little shorter unless the student writes the essay.
4. Familiar Vocabulary: Obscure words are to be removed but we teach it is not about knowing the definition of a word, but how to figure it out-a skill needed in college.
5. Subjective Evidence: This is about citing parts of a passage but this is misleading because the test is OBJECTIVE which means there is only ONE right answer.
6. Essay Analyzing: The judges will still need a set of standard to grade an essay. See 1.
7. Focused Math: Problem solving, data analysis and Algebra questions.
Document Sourcing: Passage-based reading topics that will still only have certain questions types.
8. Analyzing Data: More Passage-based reading sections that can include topics like science and social studies.
9. Founding documents/Global conversations: More Passage-based reading that is drawn from historical documents, letters or books.
10. No guessing penalty: There are no points deducted for guessing but be aware that this is a bad strategy because there is an 80% chance of getting the answer wrong. Even though no points are deducted, none are gained either.
There are still two years until College rolls out the newest version of the SAT. Therefore students who are sophomores or older should still prepare to take the current test. This way they can be sure to have enough time to practice. Remember the SAT is a test of time-management! No matter how the format changes students will still need to learn shortcuts, recurring patterns and strategies in order to answer the questions quickly.
