The College Board, which administers the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Practice Scholarship Aptitude Test (PSAT) and various other college-entrance exams, announced that in 2023 the SAT will be taken online internationally, and in the United States in 2024.
“The Digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Reading Assessments at College Board, said in a statement. “With input from educators and students, we are adapting to ensure we continue to meet their evolving needs.”
The current paper test takes roughly three hours to complete. With the new changes, the digital version will take two hours and have more time given in-between questions. Additionally, there will be shorter reading passages in the reading section.
“I feel like this will allow more students to score higher and give them a higher chance of getting into college, which is a good thing,” sophomore Lenore Pratt said. “These changes are definitely necessary because the SAT has been outdated for a long time. I feel like it will be more accessible because you will not need to travel to take the test. But it will also be harder to focus on the test and would be easier to cheat, so I do not think that this will be a permanent change.”
The math portion of the current test is separated into two sections. “Calculator” and “No Calculator”. With the new changes, calculators will be allowed on the entire math section. The test is completely digital, and scores will be returned to test takes in days, rather than weeks.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” history teacher Brian Brewer said. “Kids need to be in-person taking it, the similar format I and many others had to do 30 years ago. I just feel like there’s something to be said about taking things in-person, going and doing. It makes it more real.”
Most colleges across the United States have not required students to submit their SAT or American College Testing (ACT) scores with their admission applications in the past few years because of testing limitations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This sparked questions about the equity and necessity of college entrance exams. These changes to the SAT come amongst this debate.
“In a largely test-optional world, the SAT is a lower-stakes test in college admissions,” Rodriguez. “Submitting a score is optional for every type of college, and we want the SAT to be the best possible option for students.”
By: Sara McCrimmon, Feature Writer
