The Scholastic Assessment Test, more commonly known as the SAT, has been the standardized test taken by students for many years. In the spring of 2024, the SAT will move to an online platform. There are many changes to the SAT, including a shortened time and fewer questions, as well as an adaptive format and more resources for all students.
“The biggest thing that’s new is it’s 100% on your Chromebook, it’s 100% digital. So it’s shorter, which is a good thing. The timing is on your screen and all the directions are on your screen once you start. It has just 2 sections, a two-part reading, and a two-part math. A calculator can be used on all the math, which is new,” Assistant Principal Ms. Margaret Adrian says.
There are many differing opinions on the new SAT online however, many believe that this change will benefit students and give them more opportunities to improve in the future. The adaptive format is said not to change how the test is viewed. This should mean that the changes to the test will not affect previous scores from students who have already taken it. College Board moved to the online platform for many different reasons. Some of those include— students are used to online platforms, online gives more flexibility, and it gives better access and equality to students.
“I don’t think we should over-test our students, but it is a move in the right direction because they are making it shorter and making it more fair and more accessible. So hopefully, people will see the value in the ability to compare common data that doesn’t take into account the teacher that’s instructing it, the structure of the school, or the resources. So that everyone has the same experience,” Math Intervention Specialist Ms. Laura Park says
With the SAT moving to the online platform, Howell High School has been taking steps to help students get prepared. There have been voluntary study sessions during flex time for the students to feel more comfortable with the changes to the test. During these sessions, students take practice tests and learn about strategies for taking the SAT.
“We’ve gone into the strategic math classes and they have kinda been forced to do it but we had them log in to see what the format has looked like. We did some seminars with students, some of that was you had to come because your data indicated that it would be beneficial and some students chose to come. I think the feedback has been pretty positive. I think it’s still really new but the one that had the most success was when I said come down to the project lab. They felt like it was a good use of their flex time to sit there and look at the test to see what they were struggling with,” Ms. Park says.
Ms. Park and other teachers have been working hard to help students with the sudden changes to the test. She believes that these study sessions are strongly beneficial and will help student test-takers in the future.
While this change may seem large to some, CollegeBoard strongly suggests that these changes will benefit students and test-takers in the future. Numerous students who have taken the PSAT online this fall have had positive feedback.
“I think it’s a lot better than when it was on paper, and there’s a different kind of style online because usually, you have to read a whole essay and do a bunch of questions but for this, you have to do a little paragraph and then you answer one question, and it was a lot easier like that,” junior Kaiyah Luethy says.
Some students are excited about some of the new changes including new features that are there to benefit them while taking the test.
“The built-in features are beneficial. There’s the graphing calculator feature that you can click on as well as a reference math sheet that you can click on during the question, and it also tells you how to put in your correct answer and what not to put,” junior Lydia Ilahi says.
