Starting 2024, the College Board will be shifting the SAT and related tests to a digital format. Students will also be able to take the Preliminary SAT digitally beginning fall of 2023.
The SAT is a standardized test consisting of two main sections across three different subjects: Math, Reading and Writing. The sum of each section is 800, and the sum total of points a student can earn is 1600. Many colleges allow students to submit their scores as part of their college application.
The College Board’s decision to switch to digital is part of a growing trend. Although some academic components are more convenient online, many students still prefer doing work on-paper out of habit. Despite returning from online school, most assignments and exams from classes are still completed online through Canvas.
“What you do online versus on paper, [can be] limiting,” said junior Alessandra Hernandez. “Some people just interpret information better when they’re writing it down rather than looking at a screen. It’s harder for me to focus and really take in the information.”
“It’s harder for me to focus and really take in the information.”
On the other hand, some students are more comfortable doing work digitally.
“For the most part, I prefer doing work digitally since it tends to [require] a lot of writing,” said senior Annie Saban. “Doing things by hand takes more [time].”
Many students have expressed concerns over the format switch.
The experience of preparing for the paper SAT for many was stressful and time consuming. Students studied with free Khan Academy resources, took practice tests and enrolled in extra paid classes. Even with the preparation, students faced problems while taking the test.
“My main [problem] was running out of time during the test [because of] reading a bunch of passages on paper,” said junior Ella Taylor.
Saban also faced similar problems during her test.
“It’s a lot easier in the reading [section of] English [to do it digitally],” Saban said. “It [was a] little inconvenient to flip back and forth on the paper version.”
In Nov. 2021, when the College Board piloted the digital SAT in the United States, 80% of the students who took the digital SAT found the online version to be less overwhelming than the paper test.
The digital SAT has many differences compared to the traditional on-paper test. Instead of taking three hours of testing time, it will only take a little over two hours. The test uses a multistage adaptive testing design, which adapts to one’s answers in the previous question. Based on how one performs in the previous set of questions, the next set will be determined. Additionally, every student will receive a unique set of questions to minimize the possibility of students cheating.
When doing the math section, students are allowed to use a built-in Desmos calculator throughout the entire section. In the Reading and Writing section, the passages will be shorter and more closely resemble college level work. Students will also recieve their scores far sooner than the paper test.
While taking the test, students are allowed to use either a school issued laptop or their own personal device. If a student does not have a device, the College Board will provide them with a device to take the test. If there are internet issues and students lose their connection, their answers will automatically be saved.
Saban expressed her feelings about the new adaptive features for the digital SAT.
“I’m not sure if that’s going to set some students up for failure later on the SAT.”
“On the end of the test takers, it could be a problem,” Saban said. “I’m not sure if that’s going to set some students up for failure later on [the] SAT. I don’t exactly know what it’s like, if you happen to do badly on the first few problems, [if] it’s going to change the trajectory of your whole test.”
In addition to improving the student experience, it will also be a more efficient process for administrators. The grading and work will be done online so shipping test materials are not needed. As stated by College Board, this new format will give schools a more flexible schedule to conduct the test.
“[I] wonder what’s going to happen in the future with technology and with these kinds of tests,” Taylor said. “It’s very interesting that a test so traditional like this is going digital. It’s scary where it’s going with AI but we’ll see what happens.”
With the new SAT format, students are hoping that standardized test taking will be a more efficient and streamlined experience.
