SAT Changes

Have you heard that the SAT is changing?  It has been talked about a ton in the college admissions world and is particularly important for juniors (and younger students) to be aware of because you are the ones who will be most impacted.  Starting in March 2016, the SAT will be redesigned.  This October’s PSAT (practice SAT) that all juniors should plan on taking, will be the first administration introducing the redesigned test.

So, what is different about the new SAT?

•           The test will be scaled on 1600 (800 for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing combined and 800 for Math)
•           The penalty for guessing will be removed
•           Similar to the ACT, the essay is now optional
•           Free SAT test preparation is available online through Khan Academy
•          There will be more charts, tables and graphs and less remote vocabulary words
•           There will be passages from “founding documents” like the Declaration of Independence instead of random sources
•           The math section will reflect real world math that does not always require (or allow) a calculator
• Students who take the SAT with the “old/ current” SAT can still use the scores when applying to college and/or they can wait and test with the “new” SAT and use that score for admission. 

WKHS junior and senior students also have a unique opportunity to take the “new” SAT in December free of charge.  CollegeBoard (the organization responsible for the SAT) is doing final comparison research on the old and new SAT.  As a result they have provided some schools with the opportunity to allow students to experience both tests.  Any WKHS student who registers for and takes the October SAT can then take the new SAT on December 9^th at WEC.  This is a school day and you will be excused from your classes, but you will still be responsible for making up your missed work.  The test is free for students, but you will not receive your test scores until May.  The test scores can be submitted as official results for your college applications.  CollegeBoard has also determined that students who complete the October and December administrations will receive a $50 Visa giftcard in the spring as a thank you for assisting them in their research of the tests.  This is a great opportunity for students, so if you are curious about how you might do on the new SAT this is the best of both worlds – take the old SAT and the new SAT all for the cost of just the old SAT and get a giftcard and not have to give up another Saturday along the way.