New SAT

Standardized testing is a large part of the admissions process for students all across the country. Tests like SAT are required by most schools as an assessment of a student’s readiness for college. Tests like this one have always been controversial because they take all of a student’s knowledge and skills and try to compile it all into just a number. While it is the most convenient way to judge all of America’s high school students by the same scale, it dismisses the fact that all people are different and can show their value in different ways. Test-taking may just not be one person’s strong suit. Even though many schools assure their applicants they take more than test scores into consideration, the College Board decided to update their SAT for what they think will better reflect college readiness.

The old version of the SAT received complaints that it was too confusing and did not reflect what students were learning at their high schools. The new SAT got rid of the vocabulary section that asked students to define obscure words. Instead, test-takers were asked to identify the usage of words more commonly used in a college atmosphere. The math portions were also deemed more relevant to college readiness and penalties for guessing were removed.

At a first glance the new SAT seems like the optimal solution to standardized testing. The re-designed SAT was announced in 2014 and for two years it was publicized like it would revolutionize the college admissions process. The first time it was administered was last month, March of 2016. In a survey, 60% of students said that the questions were straightforward and easy to follow. 85% of students answered that they preferred the new SAT to the older version. Overall it seemed to have a promising reception.

I took the SAT in March and I along with 58% of test-takers felt it was too long. But, more importantly, a lot of it was unnecessarily wordy. Yes, you expect the reading section to be entirely text-based but I felt that the math portion had also added a lot of reading comprehension to it. Many problems, like the ones involving graphs, had complex headings, labels, and answer choices with subtle differences that were meant to trick you. This kind of test could be a lot easier if your school has prepared you well but for lower income students of students that don’t speak English as a first language, the new SAT could become a real challenge.

It is expected that native English speakers should get a higher score in the reading and writing section but the math portion could theoretically be more or less equal. This new SAT leaves a group of students at a distinct disadvantage. While I do agree that it is important to be proficient in English in order to do well in college and that the new SAT has made some good steps in the right direction, the claims the new SAT would be much better for everyone seem a little questionable. All I’m saying is that the College Board shouldn’t be so quick to pat itself on the back.