FORWARD MATTERS

As you’ve probably heard, the SAT is changing. In March, 2016, we’ll have a new test that represents a radical departure from the test we’ve come to know. Naturally, parents have questions about the change and what it means for them.

What are the most important changes?
The SAT is becoming more of a “drill and kill” test. They are getting rid of questions that test sophisticated vocabulary and abstract reasoning skills in favor of more straightforward questions. In math, the idea is that you wouldn’t have to do anything that you haven’t done before in high school. Reading will have simpler passage-based questions and questions based on graphs. Writing is also getting easier. The essay used to ask you to take a position and defend it. Now you will have to explain how the passage makes its case without critically evaluating it. Creative problem solving is much less important now. The new focus is on following directions. Some people will do better on the new version, but some would be better off with the current one.

Why is the SAT changing? If you believe the College Board, the makers of the test, the new SAT will be a better predictor of success in college. The idea is that there will be more continuity between what is taught in high school, what is measured on the test, and what is required in college. Critics (and there are many) believe that the new test is part of an effort to change the nature of education by lining up the SAT with the Common Core. There’s also a marketing component here: the new test is now much closer to the ACT, which has taken more and more of the SAT’s market share in recent years.

Does anyone need to take the new SAT? No. The ACT is a perfectly legitimate option. It is accepted everywhere, and colleges trust it just as much as the current SAT.

Should my child take the new SAT? For current juniors, consider the ACT first. It is a well-understood test with lots of practice materials, you can take it during the fall as well as the spring, and you can get your score reports without delay. The SAT is in flux, and early new SAT test takers may not get their March scores until after the deadline for subsequent tests. The only reason to bother with the new SAT is the possibility that your child will do significantly better on it than he or she would on the ACT. Students can take free practice tests on each to find out where they stand. Use the official ones on collegeboard.org or actstudent.org to make sure you get the real thing. Since the new SAT and the ACT are pretty close to each other, chances are your child’s scores will be similar.

Should my child take the current SAT before it is gone? Possibly. You can find free practice tests for the current SAT on collegeboard.org to see if the current one is better for your child. Students with good vocabularies and strong reasoning skills may do better on the current version. One warning: while it’s likely that current juniors will be able to use the current SAT for admission, it is possible that some individual colleges will insist on the new SAT. Most people perform similarly on the current SAT and the ACT, so focusing on the ACT is a sensible option for most people.

About Ben Paris: Ben is a national test prep expert and private tutor with over 20 years of experience. He is a former Curriculum Director for Kaplan Test Prep who also created the award-winning Peterson's Test Prep SAT online course. Ben has published dozens of test prep books, trained hundreds of teachers, and personally taught thousands of students how to succeed on standardized tests. Contact him at ben.paris@gmail.com.