The College Board announced on March 5 that the SAT will be revamped for spring 2016, according to collegeboard.org. The College Board also reported that the new SAT will be “more focused and useful than ever before.”
According to collegeboard.org, “The redesigned SAT will ask students to apply a deep understanding of the few things shown…to matter most for college readiness and success.”
That requirement features eight different themes for questions, including “Problems Grounded in Real World Contexts” and “Analysis in Science and in Social Studies.” The College Board added that new scoring techniques, including no penalties for wrong answers, and times allotted for each section are still being finalized.
College Board President David Coleman said that he cites the revamping of the SAT to its growing inconsistency with the education system.
According to nytimes.com, Coleman said that “[the test has] become disconnected from the work of our high schools.”
Junior Melanie Nettler said that she agrees with the new changes. She said: “Changes like no deductions for wrong answers and eliminating the infamous vocabulary sections will definitely be helpful. By making the test more in line with schools’ curriculum, the SAT will seem more like an accurate test instead of a ‘game’ with tricks and other tips.”
According to Guidance Counselor Mr. Paul Valenzano, the fact that the essay was made optional is beneficial because more and more colleges have begun to disregard the essay portion of standardized tests. For example, Georgetown University does not require the ACT writing section, according to georgetown.edu.
Valenzano added that these changes are “a long time coming.”
Changes aside, the controversy of the value of the SAT for assessing learning still exists.
Senior Sarah Davidson said that the SAT should not define a student’s intelligence.
“The test has no control over [a student’s academic success],” she added. “Hopefully we don’t allow it to become such a huge deal that it takes emphasis off of real learning.”
additional reporting by Rebecca Plotkin