At the start of spring 2024, U.S. high school students will only be allowed to take the SAT test online.
College Board will still offer the pencil and paper SAT, but only for students who have specific accommodations. This rule was also implemented in other countries at the start of 2023.
The purpose of this transition is to make the testing process quicker and more adaptive to students as individuals. The pencil-paper tests that were given to students in the past had the same questions on every test, but the questions on the online test are personalized to each student. The digital format is also supposed to make the testing less time consuming and more modern to serve the new generation.
Junior Sienna Thurston took the PSAT digitally and in the pencil-paper format and she spotted a difference that she thought made it easier for her to complete the test.
“The biggest difference for me was the difficulty. I think that the digital was obviously way easier than the pencil-paper and it was way easier to time my pace because there was a timer at the top of the Chromebook,” Thurston said.
This testing will also reduce the amount of time students are given. Before, the testing time was three hours and 15 minutes and now it is two hours and 14 minutes. College Board cut down the times of each section, making the reading and writing section 64 minutes and the math section 70 minutes.
The reading and writing section includes 54 multiple-choice questions, each accompanied by a short passage for test-takers to read in order to answer the questions. The old test had nine passages and 96 multiple-choice questions.
For the math section, students are allowed a calculator for each portion, which totals to 44 questions. This means the whole digital SAT test is 98 questions long.
Some students are concerned about glitches and computers breaking down. A college and career counselor Adrienne Nolan speaks on the worries that students may have.
“In my experience, having done online AP exams, which is done through the same company– College Board– students should not worry about glitches and computer things. If in the case that happens, students can retake or start over, so the test is fair and gives them the right amount of time,” Nolan said.
During spring of 2024, College Board will open testing windows for students between the dates of March 18- April 26.
