New Scholastic Aptitude Test guidelines, including plans to make the test digital, will be implemented in schools in the United States as of spring 2024, according to a Newsroom announcement made by the College Board.
According to the College Board, students will be able to receive their scores within days as a result of the switch to online testing. Other changes include shortening the test from three to two hours, as well as removing longer passages of the reading section in order to adjust for the shorter amount of time. Calculators will also be allowed throughout the entire math section.
“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,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at College Board.
According to Rodriguez, the SAT is willing to adapt and evolve to meet the needs of students, which involves making the test more relevant for college admissions.
“Currently, all UC colleges no longer require standardized testing for admissions into their universities,” Principal Francis Rojas said in an interview. “Usually, when decisions are made at that level, the CSU colleges follow, and then the community colleges follow.”
According to Rojas, the creation and management of standardized tests is a large business, and many companies are willing to adjust their tests if they feel as though they’re losing credibility.
“Over the years, research [has] said that these tests are actually biased against people of color, and they [have had to] adjust their tests to make them more palatable,” Rojas said.
The College Board created the SAT in order to develop measures for what educational success was supposed to look like at the time, said Rojas.
“These companies are finding themselves having to adapt or evolve to maintain their business. I believe that’s [their] way [of] not losing in their role in college admissions, as many colleges in the state of California no longer require standardized test scores for admissions into universities,” Rojas said.
In regards to the possibility of the SAT going completely digital, there will likely be agreements made between the College Board and school districts regarding the use of chromebooks or other district computers, according to Rojas.
“I think the College Board [is] finally modernizing themselves because they’re [going to] start losing revenue if they don’t change,” Rojas said. “It’s a big business, involving private tutors and the distribution of tests to numerous districts.”
Students who are looking into colleges that require some form of standardized testing should take the guidelines into consideration, but if they don’t have their eye on any colleges that request those types of scores, they shouldn’t stress too much over the SAT, Rojas said.
“If a student is interested in a college that still requires standardized tests for admissions, then [they should] take it,” Rojas said.
According to counselor Beth Harke, the College Board is trying to look past COVID in order to determine what changes they are going to make to the SAT.
“It’s been interesting during the pandemic because new announcements have continuously rolled out, [and] guidelines have changed so quickly,” Harke said.
Although many are fond of the idea of it being digital, everyone will have a different test, and no one is exactly sure how they will be calibrated, Harke said.
“Regardless, I do like the fact that it will be digital. I think that will make access to the test so much easier,” Harke added.
English teacher Heidi Shannahan stated that she believes many teachers are also welcoming the upcoming changes that will be made to the SAT, as they believe these changes will benefit many students.
“The longer the test, the more stressed out they [will] be, and I don’t think kids can perform as well at the end of the test, said Shannahan.
Students will also be able to represent themselves better through tests that don’t require long reading sections, said Shannahan.
“There will always be a concern regarding testing kids and how they’re going to be fairly assessed,” Shannahan said.
However, teachers are turning away from standardized tests, and are instead using methods of testing that allow their students to express themselves, Shannahan said.
“I think that if there is any way we can assess kids without using a long comprehensive test, it could [give colleges] a very well-rounded, more diverse group,” Shannahan said.