by CC Thomas’24

Coming in March of 2024 is a new age of SAT testing. Early in 2022 the College Board announced plans to begin offering the SAT in a digital format as an option for students. The digital PSAT will arrive in October, but the SAT is really where the focus here lies, as changes to the format of the test could alter how students view their academic self worth in comparison to their score.

Since changes made in 2016, the test has only been made easier for students by taking away significant amounts of content. From the years 2006-2016, the test was scored on a 2400 point scale, complete with an essay section and more sections for English-oriented subjects. This brings up an important question of how academic performance can still be accurately measured with frequent modifications to the exam.

This new digital format consists of more changes than just
adding a built-in graphing calculator, but also changes how the questions are formatted for students. Instead of long excerpts with multiple comprehension questions per passage, test takers will see short amounts of text, each with only one question. College Board has confirmed that the digital SAT will be shorter than the current paper and pencil test– around two hours instead of three.

The digital format affects yet another quality of the exam questions. In another statement from the College Board, “the questions that students are given in the second module depend on how they performed on the first module.” This demonstrates an extreme difference between the two test formats, and some possible issues on how scoring of the SAT will accurately reflect academic performance compared to peers. Those who perform better in the first module have a chance for a higher score while those who fumble the first section will not be able to redeem themselves. Those on paper do not have this risk, and the format changes the fundamental feature of the exam that the same questions are given to all test takers.

Students taking the digital exam are at a constant disadvantage to those with pencils and paper because the test is limiting them from their full potential by making assumptions on their abilities based only off of the first module. In a statement from Mike Bergin, the president of the National Test Prep Association, “If you don’t do as well, your second section is going to be easier… and then you’ll say, my top score is probably capped.”

From taking away the essay, to taking away the extensive passages, and now assuming a score before the student can even finish their exam, the SAT has gone downhill. It keeps getting faster and more efficient, but this specific change in the format means one score compared to another could mean anything. A capped score takes away significant opportunities that a student might have, and could force them to appear inferior to another whose score wasn’t capped because they took a lucky guess on a few questions. The digital SAT reflects poorly on judgment of academic performance when it pits two scores, obtained through different experiences, against each other.