The SAT is Getting a Makeover
The following news will either delight or terrify you: the SATs are getting revamped.
The College Board, the association which creates and distributes the SATs, has announced the college entrance exam is getting its first makeover since 2005. While it is unclear what specific changes are to be made, we know the change is being driven by the College Board’s new President David Coleman.
Why the sudden changes? Perhaps it has something to do with the ACT bypassing the SAT as the most popular college standardized entrance exam last year for the first time.
Mr. Coleman has been quoted to state he believes the test should realistically reflect expectations colleges have of their incoming students. This is reference to the essay or writing portions of the SATs. In a lecture at Brookings, Mr. Coleman stated his problem with SAT writing was the lack of facts presented to students:
But I have a problem with the SAT writing. So if you look at the way the SAT assessment is designed, when you write an essay even if it’s an opinion piece, there’s no source information given to you. So in other words, you write like what you’re opinion is on a subject, but there’s no fact on the table.
He goes on further to state that colleges expect students to be informed of the subject they are writing about. Creating opinions on incomplete information is a disservice to students. In addition, Mr. Coleman has publicly stated he believes the vocabulary portion should be more more relevant to students. While we will never see “YOLO”, and “photobomb” on future SAT tests perhaps some words like “antediluvian” will be eliminated simply because they are antediluvian (ancient).
While Mr. Coleman’s public statements have given us an indication of what types of changes we should expect on the SATs, at Tutor Delphia, we are eagerly awaiting the new release. There has been no indication when these changes will be put into effect.
If you need help preparing for your upcoming SAT tests, we have a variety of experienced tutors to assist you achieve the best score possible.
If you have taken the test before, what do you think should be changed?
For more information, check out the following articles on the SAT change on
CBS News
NY Times
Washington Post