As the procedure to meet the advanced era of standardized testing, the SAT would follow the same format as a duration of two hours, being scored on a 1600 scale. The test itself would be taken with the same procedure, at schools in different testing centers. Students have the option to take the exam with their own or school-owned devices according to their testing centers.
Additionally, College Board announced that the duration of the test would be an hour shorter, only two hours for students to complete the test. This change in time is significant considering the number of questions corresponding to the two-hour duration. The revised version of the SAT will have a more time for each question to deliberating shorter text passages for the reading questions, each with one corresponding question.
In contrast, universities and schools have made the SAT optional, giving states the flexibility to administer the test and score accordingly. This optional change has impacted Eastlake students significantly, and certain issues like losing Wi-Fi connectivity or technical problems can hamper the ability of taking the exam.
Worldwide, more than 80% of students agree to the opinion of online tests were less stressful than going with the traditional paper and pen. Students at Eastlake who have taken the SAT on the traditional way with pen and paper have surprisingly strong opinions of the new version. Eastlake students, like Taran Sangera, who have taken the SAT on paper have the opinion saying, “It would be personally harder for me to get used to the new one.” She adds on, “My friends say that the online version would be easier because we do not have to read long passages in the reading section as much.” Students who will take the SAT in future, like Haarika Nidadavolu, shares her point of view on this subject. She states, “I think personally taking the SAT online would work out better for me since I have more experience taking online tests like the SBA”. Adding on, Haarika talks and shares how the online version of the SAT would lower her stress levels while taking the test. She adds, “Since everything is online and I am more used to it so, when I see the same digital format again, I am more likely to be adjusted to it, and it won’t be a complete different test setting for me”. Surprisingly, Eastlake students who have not taken the SAT relate to Haarika’s opinion when she says, “If it is on paper, I feel that I would have to prepare myself more”.
Our dean of students, Josh Trimmell, states his opinion about this new change in the perspective of a test coordinator. Trimmell says “There is a lot of work behind the scenes to get paper tests to College board so it’s less stress and anxiety for me. Overall, I think it’s going to be a better experience for the test coordinator myself for students for staff, parents, and everybody.”
The variation in opinions make it extremely difficult to rule out any of them from consideration. With College Board’s final decision taken at a surprise for everybody, the diaspora of the reactions for digital SAT make the answer of continuity to be answered through time.
