Upcoming Test Changes

Beau Borrero

Instructor / Tutor

Why Change the SAT?• College Board president David Coleman, a former architect of the

Common Core standards, plans to make the SAT test what students are learning in their classrooms.

• According to Coleman, the test should emphasize “things that matter more so that the endless hours students put into practicing for the SAT will be work that’s worth doing.”

• “The heart of the revised SAT will be analyzing evidence. The College Board is reaching out to teachers and college faculty to help us design questions that, for example, could ask students to use math to analyze the data in an economics study or the results of a scientific experiment, or analyze the evidence provided within texts in literature, history, geography or natural science.”

When Will the SAT Change?• PSAT = October 2015

• Release of new SAT in 2016

• Impacts current freshman – Class of 2017

The New SAT: Eight Key Changes

• Relevant Words in Context – similar to current critical reading

• Command of Evidence – interpret, synthesize, and use evidence

• Essay Analyzing a source – how does the author build an argument?

• Math Focused on 3 Key Areas – more on this later

• Problems Grounded in Real-World Contexts – related to college and career

• Analysis in Science and Social Studies – modern issues

• Founding Documents and the Great Global Conversation

• No Penalty for Wrong Answers – just like the ACT

SAT: Technical Changes • Print and digital versions available• 3 hours long with OPTIONAL essay• Return to 1600 point scale

Combined reading, writing, and math score Essay scored separately

• Remove penalty for wrong answers• Calculator permitted on SOME sections• 3 sections:

• Evidence Based Reading and Writing

• Math

• Essay

Evidence-based Reading and Writing• Showcase a student’s command of analyzing evidence in reading

passages.

• Analyze a wider range of source text from literature, science, social studies, history, and the arts.

• Synthesize info from graphs, tables, charts, etc.

• No more sentence completions. Rather paragraph analysis so students will edit in a more rich real-world context.

• Incorporate America’s Founding documents into verbal sections. Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, etc.

Vocabulary• Vocabulary will be less esoteric and more relevant to daily life. “Words

like transform, deliberate, hypothesis,” – Coleman

• Everyday “powerful” words which require an understanding of how the word works and how it is used.

Synthetic: artificial; imitating a natural product

Synthesis: creation of something by artificial mean

The Essay• Current Essay: 25 minutes

no source information given; students can fabricate examples has not historically proved predictive of college success

• Essay is no longer required and scored separately.

• New Essay: 50 minutes. • Common prompt applied to different sources• “As you read the passage, consider how the author uses:

• Evidence such as facts or examples• Reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence• Stylistic or persuasive elements to add power to the ideas expressed• Write an essay in which you explain how the author builds an

argument to persuade an audience”

Math • SAT Math will focus on 3 key areas:

• Problem Solving and Data Analysis

• The Heart of Darkness…um…I mean Algebra

• Passport to Advanced Math

• Calculators allowed on some sections , not all

• Coleman: “And it shouldn’t just be about picking the right answer. It should be about being able to explain, and see, the applications of this math.” More word problems? Charts and diagrams?

Safe Use Warning • “SAT scores should only be used in combination with other relevant

information to make responsible decisions about students.”

• Just like Cigarettes and Alcohol - “Habitual and repeated use of the SAT may adversely affect the health of your incoming freshman class”

Stay tuned… April 16, 2014 • Next release from College Board

• Complete blueprint of the new SAT

• Sample exam and questions

Cumulative Effect• More content based

• Tied to Common Core

• Closely aligns the SAT to the ACT

Changes to the ACT• The ACT will introduce a computer-based version of the test in 2015

• Paper test will still be available for the time being, but goal is to eventually be 100% digital.

• No intimation that the digital ACT will be adaptive like, for example, the ACT Compass test (a computer-adaptive college placement test).

Changes to the ACT• “Those who take the test on a computer will see a new breed of

questions — free-response questions in which students manipulate on-screen images to form their conclusions. In one sample question, students move a plunger on a cylindrical gas tank to change gas pressure and temperature. They then write a few sentences describing the relationship between distance and pressure and between temperature and pressure, and graph those relationships.” (Lewin 2)

• In another question, students “pour” four different liquids into beakers to see which one rises to the top and which one sinks to the bottom. Based on their experimentation, they predict what would happen if all four liquids were combined.” (Lewin 2)

Lingering Questions about Digital Testing• Will the whole school or individual students choose which version of

the test to take?

• How will the results of the digital and paper versions be compared?

• What about schools that don’t have the capacity to accommodate all students in a computer lab or other secure setting?

Implications• Greater polarization: Race for market share has both ACT and College

Board looking to secure contracts with states and districts; in these states and districts, the organization that has a contract enjoys a drastic lead in number of tests taken

• The tests are becoming more alike, with the SAT moving further from its original aptitude-based approach and more towards an ACT-style high school achievement-centered (now called Common-Core) approach.

Implications• Lower socioeconomic status students benefit from the SAT and ACT’s

pursuit of their part of the market

• Interestingly, taxpayers, via school contracts with SAT/ACT, shoulder much of the burden.

• Colleges benefit—if more lower SES students take the tests, more higher-scoring low SES students will be available for them to recruit.

Test Prep Implications

Conclusion• Some colleges, e.g. Bowdoin, have made ACT/SAT scores optional

because of their weak-moderate value in predicting college success

• Are the changes to the SAT (and to a lesser extent, the ACT) increasing their accuracy and relevance as predictors of college success? Or are the changes more about competition for market share?

Contact Info

Jennifer Morris

National Director, Strategic Partnerships

310-579-7567

jennifer@veritasprep.com

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