Sophomore and freshmen students will soon experience a revamped SAT exam featuring a reverted 1600-point grading scale, a simplified vocabulary, and an optional essay section.
Beginning in the spring of 2016, students will be able to take then new version of the SAT, which is the test most often used by institutions in the college admissions process.
“The test will definitely impact freshmen, because it will have a new format,” college adviser Sarah Simmons said.
One of the new changes is aimed at making the test more relevant to student. The test will now include at least one reading portion based on one of the “founding documents” of the United States, such as the as the Declaration of Independence or a famous text such as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
“They’re making the SAT a lot more like the ACT,” Simmons said.
There are some changes that show this very clearly, like how the SAT will have a more practical vocabulary that will focus on words that students might come across during their career or in college. The essay portion will now be optional.
“I’m kind of wondering why they’ve made it optional; I think they should have kept the essay required,” English teacher Janet Larkin said.
The College Board, which designs the test, has also decided to remove the current ¼ point reduction for wrong answers. No points will be deduced for wrong answers on the new version.
According to the College Board’s Web site, it hopes this change will encourage students “to give the best answer they have to every problem.”
“With the essay section not being required, it’s really missing the opportunity to look into students thinking,” Larkin said. “This has always been standard of College Board, so with this change, you’re losing an effective way of doing that.”