The Editor's View

Knowns and Unknowns about the New SAT

Volume 9 / Issue 2 / Winter 2009

Editor's note, winter 2009: The SAT has changed quite a bit since this article was originally published. In March of 2005, the College Board overhauled the SAT. The bigger changes include:

>> Three primary components: Math, Writing, and Critical Reading, each using the traditional SAT scoring model of up to 800 points.

>> Analogies are no longer part of the test.

>> Total test time is now between four and a half and five hours. The Math section is 70 minutes (two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section), Critical Reading is 70 minutes (two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, and the Writing test is 60 minutes (25 minutes for the essay and 35 minutes for multiple choice questions).

At its outset, many colleges were not sure how to treat the new writing section and did not use it as a primary admission criterion, relying on the traditional 1600 point model. A common reason given for this hesitancy is wanting to be able to see how students perform in college, so that universities can see how scores on the Writing section predict subsequent college performance. Additionally, many have noted that an essay written in 25 minutes on a Saturday does not correspond with the types of writing students are required to perform in college.

Recent research conducted at the University of Georgia on its students’ SAT scores shows that the new SAT does not predict first year college performance all that much better than the old SAT. They found that each 100-point increase on the SAT Writing test lead, on average, to first year GPAs rising 0.07 points and grades in freshman English courses rising 0.18 points. Moreover, the Writing test largely predicts the same performance as the Critical Reading test.

In the winter of 2009, it was announced its Score Choice option that allows students who take the SAT multiple times to select which scores they wanted to submit with their applications. Previously, all student scores were reported. Under the change, students can omit scores from dates they wish to remain private. However, Score Choice is only an option at schools that choose to participate. Some colleges are choosing to require all SAT scores from applicants. Applicants should check the admissions website of each school being considered for how that school’s policies work. Students who have taken the ACT multiple times are able to select the scores from any of their test dates they would like to be submitted.

Beginning in March 2005, the SAT will have a very different look. Here at Duke University, and at other colleges across the country, freshmen entering in the fall of 2006 will be the first group of students affected by the revision, the tenth in the test's 76-year history. Because almost 1.5 million high school seniors take the SAT each year, and an additional million take its competitor, the ACT, the proposed changes have created a national stir among students, high schools, and college admissions officers.
Why is the SAT Being Revised?

All psychological and educational tests must undergo revision to remain accurate, contemporary, and valid. The SAT is no exception. The College Board, its publisher, hopes to align it more precisely with what students learn in high school and to increase its ability to predict college success—the primary purpose of the test.

Critics contend that the College Board is revising the test in response to a proposal made by Dr. Richard C. Atkinson, president of the University of California system, to eliminate the SAT as a requirement for entry into California universities, which serve almost 150,000 undergraduates and represents the College Board's single largest market. Atkinson reportedly supports the proposed changes.
What are the proposed changes?

Three main changes will be made. Two of the SAT's most formidable, and most dreaded, sections will be dropped: verbal analogies and quantitative comparisons. A new "critical reading" section will consist of a 30-minute essay and multiple-choice grammar questions. Finally, the math section will include problems from third-year high school math, primarily Algebra II. Each section will be graded on a scale of 200 to 800, and the highest possible score for the test as a whole will be 2400.
Will It Be a Better Test?

Only time (and careful research) will tell whether the new SAT more successfully predicts college achievement. It is unlikely that the revision will put an end to the criticism that the test is unfair to minority groups and economically disadvantaged students. Indeed, no test can eliminate the advantages that some students enjoy by virtue of the homes, schools, and communities in which they are raised. Furthermore, it would be unrealistic to expect any test to accomplish what is an educational, and not a testing, issue: ensuring that all students are appropriately challenged and held to high standards.

—Steven I. Pfeiffer, Ph.D.