College Board Announces Changes to SAT

The College Board Unveils New SAT, First Overhaul Since 2005 College Board President David Coleman announced changes today to the SAT today at SXSW, marking the first overhaul of the college admission exam since 2005. The new SAT is expected to be released in 2016. This announcement comes months after the initial release of the new SAT was pushed back in order to give students time to take the revised PSAT/NMSQT before the revised SAT. With the number of students taking the ACT surpassing the SAT for the first time in 2012, College Board has been exploring new ways to catch up to the growing popularity of the ACT. The SAT has been previously criticized for its content, that is less-curriculum based than that of the ACT and the required writing section. Changes to the SAT for 2016 include: Eliminating point deduction for wrong answers. Now, students will not face a penalty for guessing. A return to the 1600 point scale with the essay providing a separate score The essay portion of the writing section will no longer be required. The test will include three sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Math Essay The Math section will focus on "problem solving and data analysis; the heart of algebra; and passport to advanced math." No more of that confusing SAT vocabulary. Instead, the test will now focus on "words that students will use consistently in college and beyond." More evidnece based reading and writing, "including questions that require them to cite a specific part of a passage to support their answer choice." The test will be three hours in length, with an additional 50 minutes for the essay. Will be administered in print and by computer in 2016. Coleman also announced that all income-eligible students who take the SAT will receive four application fee waivers to apply to college. Here is the College Board’s full release on the SAT changes. What do you think of the changes to the SAT? Do you think it will help students? Tell us in the comments below!