What Every Parent Needs to Know About the New SAT

by

In the spring of 2014, the president of the College Board, David Coleman, announced that the organization would be redesigning and launching the college entrance exam in the spring of 2016.

This announcement left many parents and students confused and unsure about how to best prepare for college admissions. Some of the questions we have most frequently heard include:

  1. What are the major changes that will be included in this new SAT?
  2. Who will be affected by the change?
  3. Should my child even bother with the SAT or just focus on the ACT?

In the first of our four-part series on the redesigned SAT, we are going to focus on the first question: What are the major changes that will be included in the new SAT?

  1. Scoring

Students who receive a new SAT score report will notice a few major changes. Firstly, the test is reverting to its original 1600 point scale with two 800 sections for math and evidence-based reading and writing. This is different from the test format that the College Board rolled out in 2005 that introduced a third 800 point writing section.

Students will also find that there are sub-scores and insight scores for social studies and science. These sub-scores will likely be used for state assessments and not for college entrance.

The essay score will be scored separately from the other test sections.

Lastly, perhaps the largest change is that students will no longer receive a point deduction for wrong-answers. This will largely impact how students prepare for the test as it becomes beneficial to answer every question rather than omit answers.

 

  1. Anatomy

Beyond the score report, the entire test is going to look drastically different. The old SAT was formatted to include: 3 Math tests (10-25 minutes each), 3 Critical Reading tests (20-25 minutes each), 3 Writing tests (10-25 minutes each), 1 required essay (25 minutes), and 1 Experimental test. Within each multiple choice section, students had five answers to choose from.

The new test has been nipped and tucked to include 1 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing test, which will include a 65 minute Reading section and a 35 minute Language and Writing Section, 1 Math test, which will include a 55 minute section with a calculator and a 25 minute section without one. The essay is now optional and will be placed at the end of the test (compared to the front). Students will be given 50 minutes for the essay. Finally, students will only have four multiple choice answers to choose from.

 

  1. The Essay

As I mentioned in the last section, the essay is now optional, 50 minutes, and will be placed at the end of the test. But these aren’t the only changes the SAT essay is experiencing. The content and scoring of the essay is also being altered.

On the old SAT, the essay section was a creative writing prompt. Students were scored on structure and writing capability. This essay was scored on a scale of 1-12 by two testers and combined with a multiple-choice writing section for the total writing section score.

On the new SAT, students will have 50 minutes to analyze a 650-750 word document and draft an analytical essay. Students will be scored based on their ability to read the text, analyze the information, relate it to outside content, and their writing abilities. Students will need to be able to explain how the author builds an argument by citing specific facts. The new SAT essay will be scored on a 1-4 scale by 3 readers and will not be included in the student’s total score.

 

  1. The Math Section

In order to be more in compliance with the Common Core, the content of the SAT is drastically changing. The old math section had a large emphasis on computational skill and did not go up higher than Algebra II. The new SAT will require students to focus on problem solving and data analysis and will include questions up to Trig.

Similar to the essay section, the math students will require analytical skills not needed on the prior SAT. The new math section will include real-world problem solving accompanied by informational graphics. Students should expect to see an abundance of word problems, with one multi-question problem.

On the previous SAT, students were able to use a calculator for every math section. However, they will only have access to a calculator for 37 questions on the new SAT and will be expected to answer 20 questions without one.

 

  1. The Reading and Writing Section

One of the biggest changes is that the Reading and Writing sections are being combined into one section again. This section is being called the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section. As indicated by the title, all reading passages will be non-fictional and will test students’ understanding of passages from literature, social studies, and the sciences. There will be one primary source document included in the “Great Global Conversation” section, which will require students to relate the content to real-world events.

 

So why are these changes occurring?

 

Naturally, one of the biggest questions parents and students have regarding the new SAT is: Why? Why did the College Board decide to redesign its entire test? There are a few reasons.

Though this has not been stated by The College Board, it has been speculated that the ACT played a massive role in the decision to revamp the SAT. For the first time in history, the number of students taking the ACT surpassed the number of students taking the SAT in 2012. This means that the SAT has lost the control in the college entrance market.

One of the main reasons why the ACT was able to surpass the SAT was due to state partnerships. In 13 states, the state pays for all 11th grade students in public high schools to take the ACT and in some of the states, it is used as an end-of-the-year assessment.  Due to the lack of classroom content included on the old test, the SAT is rarely used in this capacity.

This leads to the second biggest reason behind the revamped SAT. According to The College Board, the new SAT will correspond with the Common Core Standards, whose implementation David Coleman spearheaded before taking his role with the College Board. Coleman said, “No longer will the SAT stand apart from the work of teachers in their classrooms.” It is likely that the SAT is hoping to regain control of the college entrance exam market by developing a 21st century test that in some ways mirrors the current ACT.

[sc:HS-how-will-new-SAT-affect-your-child]