As an important benchmark to determine high
school students’ readiness for college, the SAT is getting a makeover to
reflect learning and understanding instead of memorizing and last minute cramming. The new SAT is getting rid of all the things
that made it an impractical judge of intellect in the past. They finally got rid of the unnecessarily complex
vocabulary lists and the mandatory essay portion. Collegeboard has dubbed the new SAT a “skills
and knowledge” test.
Read more to find out how and what the SAT is
changing and what to expect when it’s released next March.
What changed?
The focus: The new SAT will shift its focus to posing questions with real-world applications and evidence-based solutions. This means that the new SAT has practical questions that a student can answer without studying long lists of obscure words.
The scoring: The new SAT is based on a scale of 400-1600. And you won't be penalized for guessing.
The essay: Now the essay is optional- and it's going to have an entirely different purpose. Students who choose to take the essay portion of the SAT will have to read a passage, analyze the author's writing techniques, and use evidence from the passage to explain how the author built their argument.
NOTE: Some colleges may require the SAT essay section in their application. Make sure to check if it's mandatory for any of your chosen schools.
The duration: Minus the essay section, the new SAT will be 3 hours long.
What's the same?
The SAT might be completely different on the outside, but one thing remains the same- the SAT is an important test that most colleges will use to determine your eligibility for acceptance.
How are the subjects different?
The new SAT is broken up into three sections- Reading, Writing, and Math, same as the old SAT. The main difference is what kind of questions the test will ask. Here's a breakdown of what each section will entail:
Reading
Instead of having students memorize words and read long, confusing passages on random topics, the new SAT will focus on "evidence-based reading."
The Reading section will include:
-Reading passages and interpreting what they
mean
-Answering multiple-choice questions
-Finding evidence in a passage to answer
questions
-Identifying author’s voice and reasoning
-Determining relationships between graphics and text
Writing
The writing section will follow the same format as the old SAT by testing a student's ability to edit and identify errors in sentences.
The Writing section will include:
-Testing students' knowledge of grammar and writing
effectively
-Finding errors in sentence structure and
punctuation
-Reading passages about career, social studies, humanities,
science
-Identifying the best word choice based on context
Math
The Math section will focus on presenting students with problems from three main bodies of math- Algebra, Problem Solving, and Advanced Math Concepts. These questions are designed to test a student's ability to look at practical problems present in college curriculum and real-world situations.
The Math section will include:
-Algebra- Linear equations and inequalities
-Problem solving and data analysis- interpreting
data and analyzing relationships
-Quadratics and advanced equations
-Geometry, Trigonometry, and complex numbers
-Calculator and no calculator questions
-Grid-in questions- filling in your own answer instead of multiple choice
What's next?
Collegeboard hopes that this new, revamped SAT will do a better job of preparing students for college and help test takers to apply their knowledge instead of being forced to study for a test unlike anything they've learned in school. The test is set to change in March 2016, so high school sophomores and juniors should start studying now.
SSAMCAST provides SAT study courses and material at no charge! Sign up at www.ssamcast.com and prepare for the new SAT.
Are you excited for the changes coming to the SAT? Do you think it will make a difference in student's scores now the test will be more practical?
Comment below with your opinions!
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