ROANOKE, Va. – Long gone are the days when students took the SAT using pencils and paper. That’s because it’s now a digital test.
The test is also shorter. It’s now a little more than two hours long instead of three hours long. Also, while the test measures the same content and skills for students, it’s now adaptive.
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“Meaning if students do well on the first verbal section, they will get a harder next section on verbal. If they don’t do as well, they’ll get an easier next verbal section. Same thing for math. It’s going to adapt to how they do,” said Director of Outreach David Blobaum with the National Test Prep Association.
Blobaum said students like the new changes so far.
“So far, students love the feel of the new SAT. So let’s say you’re not as strong on certain content, well then your next sections are easier sections. So, it’s objectively an easier test even though your scores then caped,” said Blobaum.
For many colleges, taking the SAT is optional. However, that is starting to change.
Director of College Admissions Programs Heather Waite with Kaplan said that 15 percent of test-optional schools are now reevaluating their policies.
Both Waite and Blobaum also said it’s important to take the test because it can help your chances of getting into colleges or universities. Taking the test can even increase your chances of getting scholarships.
“So not only do test scores help students get into schools even if the school’s test is optional, they will also help students afford college if they have good test scores,” said Blobaum.
To get the best scores on the new test, it’s important to prepare for the new digital test.
“The questions have a different look and feel. So the content that is being measured is the same, but the questions do have a different look and feel. So, students do need to spend some time getting comfortable with those specifically on the reading and writing test,” said Waite.
Waite said students can take practice tests to really get familiar with the new format, how long each section is and how the test is scored. One way to do this is to download the Bluebook app. There are also plenty of resources on Kaplan’s website.
When it comes to whether your kid needs a tutor, Waite said students should think about who they are as test takers when making this decision.
“Some students really thrive just purchasing a prep book from Amazon and kind of working through it, working through the practice questions. Some students really do better with a classroom SAT class experience, where they have peers and they have a teacher guiding them through what to expect on test day, and then still other students are gonna do best with a tutor that can really hone in on their specific areas of opportunity and maybe even kind of work around their busy schedules when they’ve got a bunch of extracurriculars,” said Waite.
There are also major changes coming to the ACT next year.