Redesigned SAT Gives Students More Options In 2016
Nicole Thompson, associate director of college counseling, introduces sophomores to the college application process.
Frank Smith, director of college counseling, works in his office.
In March of 2016, the SAT, a college entrance exam taken by thousands of high school students every year, will be redesigned by The College Board.
Currently, the SAT contains four sections: critical reading, writing, mathematics and an essay. On the redesigned test, the essay will be optional, and there will be a greater emphasis on vocabulary in context, according to The College Board.
For example, students will be given a sentence and be asked to identify what the word means in the specific context. In addition, there will no longer be a deduction for wrong answers, therefore encouraging students to guess rather than leave an answer blank.
“I think it’s really confusing because people have the option of taking both versions of the test so that’s a harder college process for us [students],” sophomore Stephanie Min said. “Are colleges going to judge us based on the scores of our old SAT or the new one? How are they going to compare people’s scores if they’re taking two separate tests?”
Andrew Losier, associate director of college counseling, takes a phone call.
Sophomores will be the first class to take the redesigned SAT if they take it in March of their junior year. However, if they take it before then, they will take a different test. Students who take the current SAT will be able to convert their scores to fit the redesigned scoring system, according to Kaplan Test Prep.
Both tests are accepted by all colleges. However, many students choose to take the American College Test (ACT) over the SAT. The ACT has a science section and is less specific, has more straightforward wording and contains a more advanced mathematics section compared to the SAT, according to The Princeton Review.
“I like the ACT because it’s math, reading, writing and science, and the SAT is all split up. I just like getting [each subject] done with. It’s also shorter,” said junior Sarah Yang.
Taking the ACT over the SAT doesn’t necessarily increase or decrease students’ chances of getting into college, as colleges accept the scores of the SAT and ACT equally. However, it is common for students to score higher on one of the two tests based on the type of student and learner they are.
Sophomores and juniors took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) Oct. 15, and juniors will take a mock ACT Oct. 29.
Upcoming dates:
- SAT test dates
November 8, 2014 (October 9 registration deadline)
December 6, 2014 (November 6 registration deadline)
January 24, 2015 (December 29 registration deadline)
March 14, 2015 (February 13 registration deadline)
May 2, 2015 (April 6 registration deadline)
June 6, 2015 (May 8 registration deadline) - ACT test dates
October 25, 2014 (September 19 registration deadline)
December 13, 2014 (November 7 registration deadline)
February 7, 2015 (January 9 registration deadline)
April 18, 2015 (March 13 registration deadline)
June 13, 2015 (May 8 registration deadline)
