The College Board has decided to move forward eliminating the grueling, three-hour Scantron test with the launch of a digital SAT. This change came after the successful pilot of a digital alternative during the pandemic, and now a wide array of changes have been instituted to better-adapt to what students will actually learn in school.
The changes significantly reduce the length of the test, cutting down to about two hours with more time per question. Students now have the freedom to use calculators throughout the entire math section, and reading passages will be shorter with just one question tied to each passage.
The digital upgrade is accompanied by quality-of-life improvements, as the new digital SAT Suite score reports will include information about community colleges, vocational training, and career options. Additionally, SAT scores will (reportedly) be returned earlier, though the results for March 20th testers at Cleveland will be released on April 18, 2024, around a month after students took the test.
On test days, students will complete the exam using either personal computers or computers provided by the College Board. The test has also been engineered so that progress on the exam will not be lost if students suddenly lose internet connection or power.
But you might be dismissive; the SAT is optional in most colleges these days anyways, right? Who cares? Well, the importance of the SAT is once again on the rise, after Dartmouth announced they would reinstate standardized test score requirements. Other universities, such as Brown and Yale followed suit, and more are expected to follow. MIT had already taken this step in December of 2022.
This change comes following research showing that SAT scores are strong indicators of student success and the best factor to consider when prioritizing diversity. In fact, according to Dartmouth’s letter announcing the change, test-optional policies are actually disadvantageous to lower-income families. Many students from these families do not submit their scores due to fears of a lower score having a negative impact on their chances. However, Dartmouth and other schools take into consideration the average score of the student’s high school and broader district.
Many schools re-examined previous rounds of applicants and found they would have accepted students that applied test-optional if those same students had submitted scores. In this new systemway, students are rewarded for excelling in a difficult environment rather than being average at a well-performing school. By enforcing the submission of test scores, these universities guarantee that students do not undersell themselves.
For example, let’s assume there are two students with identical extracurriculars and GPAs, and both are applying to Dartmouth. Student A, from a small, struggling district in Mississippi earns a 1270 on the SAT, the best in their district. Student B is from a rich boarding school in Connecticut, and earns something like a 1550, a typical score for students of their same demographics. Student A might assume they are disadvantaged in the application process compared to student B, though an admissions counselor would say that student A has shown more resilience and determination, and therefore deserves to be prioritized over student B.
Regardless of the effectiveness, this sudden shift could catch students off guard. Many students who were planning to go test-optional are now forced to dedicate more time to preparing for tests which will have a massive impact on the rest of their life.
To the future test takers of Cleveland: good luck. And if any troubles arise in your studying, you should learn from the example of our very own national honors students here at Cleveland.
Works Cited
He, Jacky. “Cleveland Has Two National Merit Scholars.” The Cleveland Clarion (Online), 18 March 2024, https://clevelandclarion.com/12205/news/cleveland-has-two-national-merit-scholars/.
Leonhardt, David. “The Misguided War on the SAT.” The New York Times, 7 January 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/briefing/the-misguided-war-on-the-sat.html. Accessed 8 April 2024.
“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board.” SAT Suite of Assessments, https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat. Accessed 8 April 2024.
“Update To Testing Policy.” Dartmouth Admissions, 5 February 2024, https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/apply/update-testing-policy. Accessed 8 April 2024.
