A History of Revisions to the SAT, Part 4: 2024 and Beyond
Wait! Make sure to read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series first!
Last time out, we covered the three most recent test revisions of the SAT. All three of those changes were made to make the test more relevant to students and more aligned with high school and college curricula.
The reasons for the test revisions that will start rolling out next year for international students are totally different. For this round, the College Board wanted to create an SAT that was more relevant to students and more aligned with the needs of school curriculum. Oh.
“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant.”
Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at College Board1
“With input from educators and students, we are adapting to ensure we continue to meet their evolving needs.”
Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at College Board1
There is a big change worth talking about, though. You might have noticed that the previous major revisions happened on an 11-year cycle: 1994, 2005, 2016. Why change the test for 2024? What’s the rush? The College Board is definitely not afraid of the new test-optional world we live in.
Regardless, in this blessedly final part of the series, we’ll discuss the upcoming changes to the SAT and my general feelings about them.
…And See What Sticks
The Revisions Coming to the SAT in Spring 2024
Digital-Only Test
Perhaps the biggest change in this version of the test is a switch to digital-only tests. To facilitate the digital test, students will be able to bring their own laptop or tablet to the test or use one provided by the school.
Supposedly the College Board will provide devices for students unable to access a device through the other options. I assume you’ll be required to request a device when registering if this is the path you take, but we don’t have more details on this option yet.
Adaptive Test
Each section—Reading/Writing and Math—of the new SAT will be split into two stages. After answering the first round of questions for a section, the questions in the second stage will adapt to reflect students’ performance on the first part.
If a student answers all or most of the questions in the first part correctly, that student will receive higher-level questions in the second part.
Shorter Test
The new SAT will only last two hours and fourteen minutes plus a ten-minute break at standard time. The current test at the standard times lasts three hours plus a ten-minute break.
The current test also requires 30-40 minutes of administration time while you wait for Jimmy to stop picking his nose and figure out how to bubble in his name on the answer document. Of course, Jimmy will also probably spend the entire test sniffIing at a deafening volume due a runny nose. I imagine that a digital test will not require handwriting a paragraph about how you won’t post memes about the ridiculous test passages or share test questions.
The shorter test will also include just 54 Reading/Writing questions total and 44 Math questions total. The current version includes almost that many questions in just the Verbal sections alone.
Faster Scores
Because the test will be all digital, scores should be released within days rather than the weeks it currently takes. With this new model, students in El Paso will no longer be forced to retake the test when their answer documents go flying out of the back of a UPS truck.
Section & Content Changes
The Reading and Writing sections will be combined into a single section (with two modules). The lengthy, high-level passages from the previous version are gone. Instead, the “texts” on this section are just 1-2 paragraphs long. The only new question type I have seen so far is one which asks students to read notes in the form of a bulleted list and use those notes to choose an answer which accomplishes the goal in the question stem.
The Math section will be less wordy on the new test. Additionally, students are now allowed to use a calculator on the entire section. The questions I’ve seen thus far seem to be pretty similar to the current test version, and I wouldn’t think they were out of place if they were to show up in the next QAS test.
Initial Reactions
Overall, I think the changes to the SAT are good for students. I’m a fan of the shorter test, and the total revamp of the Reading section was necessary. The new format should allow students to spend more time focused on answering the questions and less time focused on interpreting arcane, archaic passages. The full availability of a calculator on the Math section should provide students with a bit more confidence on some questions, and there are fewer questions that require you to ignore sentence after sentence of unnecessary verbosity.2
I’m less positive about the adaptive nature of the test. In the current version of the test, all questions in a section are worth the same. In the adaptive test, if you make a careless error or two in the first module of a section, you could lose 20-40 points per error as you will receive an easier second module with a lower points ceiling. Even if you answer every single question in that second module correct, you can’t recover from missing the question(s) on the first module.
I understand that the College Board’s response to that concern would likely be that it’s the adaptive nature of the test that allows it to be shorter. However, the scaling of the scores makes me nervous.
My other reservation about the format is about how closely the practice tests that have been released will match up with the actual administered tests. Just like they did with the four new design practice tests in their new Bluebook app, the College Board released four practice tests ahead of the 2016 redesign. Those tests are different in some pretty meaningful ways from the real QAS tests. In fact, the College Board has removed Practice Tests #2 and #4 from their website, study guide, and Khan Academy and replaced them with actually administered tests (#9 and #10).
Additionally, it took two or three years after the 2016 redesign for the tests to really homologize. In a standardized test, predictability is everything. The content and scaling of those early tests varied widely across administrations. Once bitten, twice shy.
In our modern, test-optional world, the College Board has every motivation to get this version of the SAT right the first time. Any funny business could be the final nail in the coffin of the SAT.
Summary
Over the past century, the SAT has gone through some wild changes in test format, content, and purpose.
We’ll know more about how the new test format impacts students next year. International students will be taking the digital SAT starting in March 2023. U.S. juniors will take the new format PSAT in October of the same year before the test goes live in the U.S. in March 2024.
I feel like I’m stuck in some sort of infinite SAT redesign loop. If I end up writing a “Part 5” in 2028-3032, please send help!
1 College Board. (2022, January 25). Digital SAT brings student-friendly changes to test experience [Press release].
2 Coincidentally, “sentence after sentence of unnecessary verbosity” is the most positive review of this blog.
What are your thoughts on the coming changes to the SAT? Let us know in the comments below!
Want to make sure the SAT is the right test for you? Read this blog post to learn why you may prefer one test over the other. Please share this post with someone who may find it useful!
