Changes to the SAT coming for high school students
The College Board has announced some major changes to the SAT, one of two entrance exams – the other is the ACT — required for admission to many colleges across the country. The College Board says the new test will “focus on the few things that evidence show matter most for college and career readiness.”
Responding to criticism that the SAT is not currently an accurate indicator of future success in college, College Board President David Coleman said, “While we build on the best of the past, we commit today that the redesigned SAT will be more focused and useful, more clear and open than ever before.”
Some of the changes will alter the way students prepare for the exam, and will likely require a new generation of prep materials. The exam will have three sections – “evidence-based reading and writing,” math and the essay – and will return to the old 1600 scale.
In 2005, the test added the written essay section, raising the top score to 2400. That essay will now become optional.