In recent weeks, the College Board has announced major changes to the content and structure of the SAT.
“It is time to admit that the SAT and ACT have become disconnected from the work of our high schools,” said College Board President David Coleman in a press conference about the changes.
The changes aim to bring the standardized test more in line with the actual work kids are doing in high school, according to Philip Ballinger, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Washington.
“My first thought [upon hearing about the changes] is that the College Board has a new president—David Coleman—and he was a primary author of the Common Core Standards, which have been implemented in a vast majority of states," Ballinger said. "These Common Core standards have students reading literature and evidence-based tests in science and social sciences, and then distilling the text for data and facts. Students then write and reflect using that evidence. Those principles are an emphasis in the new SAT, so that strikes me as being right in line with the Common Core standards, and that’s a good thing.”
Major changes to the SAT
According to the College Board's announcement, major changes include:
- Relevant words in context. "SAT words" will be words that students will use consistently in college and beyond – not one-time-only vocabulary words.
- Evidence-based reading and writing. Students will be asked to support answers with evidence, such as citing a specific part of a passage.
- Optional essay. The essay will measure students' ability to analyze evidence and explain how an author builds an argument to persuade an audience.
- Narrower math focus. The math section will draw from fewer topics, including: problem solving and data analysis; the heart of algebra; and passport to advanced math.
- Source documents from academic disciplines. The reading section will enable students to analyze a wide range of sources, including literature and literary non-fiction, science, history and social studies.
- Scoring changes. The SAT will return to the original 1600 point scale, and the wrong-answer penalty will be removed. The essay portion of the test is also optional
“Years ago I was part of a NACAC commission that recommended these tests be more aligned with what students learned in school,” Ballinger said. “These changes seem to be in line with that recommendation.”
College Board partners with Kahn Academy for free test prep
At the same time that it announced these changes, the College Board also announced its partnership with Khan Academy to provide free test preparation materials for the redesigned SAT. Beginning in spring 2015, free preparation software will be available to all students who want to take the SAT.
“I’m pretty confident in these changes,” Ballinger said. “I like the emphasis of students spending time on texts and gleaning evidence, as opposed to reflecting on how they feel about something. Ciritcal reading and reflection is a primary skill for a successful college career.”
“None of us have seen the ‘guts’ of the new SAT yet so it’s hard to be specific, but for now it seems like it’s a good shift in emphasis,” he added. “Hopefully it will make the test more connected and meaningful relative to what students are doing in school.”
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