The high school Scholastic Aptitude Tests, commonly known as the SATs, will be receiving many new changes in the following years, the most substantial being that it is going virtual. 

 

In the previous years, the SAT exams were given as scantrons and test booklets. Now they will be issued on computers either owned by the students or dispersed by administrative personnel. 

 

“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at College Board. “We’re not simply putting the current SAT on a digital platform—we’re taking full advantage of what delivering an assessment digitally makes possible. With input from educators and students, we are adapting to ensure we continue to meet their evolving needs.”

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Along with this change, the test will be shortened to about two hours compared to the three hour test it was previously. According to newsroom.collegeboard.org, students will be given shorter passages with only one or two questions tied to the pieces. They will also have access to calculators the entire test, and will receive their scores much quicker compared to prior test grades.

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So what is remaining the same you may wonder?

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Well the test is still out of 1600 points, making the grading the exact same. Students will still be taking their tests at an academic building and not at home, reducing the risk of cheating. Finally, students will still have the ability to track their growth of the assessment over time, meaning that they can still complete the SAT multiple times.  

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A common question imposed so far is: which test format is better? The answer is, the public does not know yet, and we will not for a while.

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This test format is not planned to be released until 2024. This means the first people to take this test will be current high school freshmen, such as myself. 

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Officials are promoting the new SAT arrangement, saying that it is easier to take and easier to administer. 

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“It felt a lot less stressful, and whole lot quicker than I thought it'd be,” said Natalia Cossio, an 11th grade student from Fairfax County, VA who participated in the digital pilot. “The shorter passages helped me concentrate more on what the question wanted me to do. Plus, you don’t have to remember to bring a calculator or a pencil."

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As a student herself, Cossio’s opinion definitely gives everyone a positive connotation on the test. However, we will not really know if this SAT format is more beneficial until 2024, when the first group of high school students administer the new test.