SAT goes digital, how these changes will better support the student

DELMARVA – Before you head to college, the big test that you may take has some new changes.

The SAT can be very intimidating, but with some new changes, the student is at the forefront. The test has new accommodations to support all students no matter what level they’re on. “It’s the biggest change to hit the exam in 100 years,” said Heather Waite, the Director of Content and Curriculum for our Pre College Programs at Kaplan.

Students from across the United States can expect to take the SAT in a new format, digitally to be exact. “Number 2 pencils are a thing of the past. The new exam is taken exclusively on a laptop or a tablet, and it will be taken through College Board’s Blue Book app,” said Waite.

Heather Waite says moving the test online keeps the exam up to date with the times. It’s something that Dorchester County Public Schools say their students can easily adapt to. “I think our students are actually going to be the easiest to adjust to it. They are so equipped and ready for the electronic world it’s what they deal with every single day. So, I think that they’re going to find it to be a smooth and easy transition,” said LaSina Branch, the Supervisor of School Counseling for Dorchester County Public Schools.

Some of those changes include, “shorter tests so the paper and pencil test was about a three-hour exam. The new test is just over 2 hours. It actually allows students to focus a little bit more on content now rather than endurance,” said Waite.

Also, the test is better tailored to the individual student, testing the student at an average level according to their knowledge. “Students will take a reading and writing module first and they call that the routing module. It’s a mix of easy, medium, and difficult questions, and then the system will tabulate how the student did, and then they will be sent to an either on average, easier or on average more challenging second module,” said Waite.

The math portion of the test now has calculator access. LaSina Branch with the school system says the SAT could be intimidating but it does have some benefits. “It also can be attached to scholarship dollars, which is really important so it doesn’t hurt them. We always encourage them to keep all the doors open. Make sure that you have as many options open and available for when you do decide what your post-secondary step is going to be,” said Branch.

With the new changes, test scores will come back to students faster. It will be just a matter of days compared to weeks.

March 9th is the first date the SAT will be taken online in the US and because the exam is completely digital, you can bring your own device or use one provided at your testing station.