If you wanted to take the old SAT, it is too late now, as officially Jan. 23 was the last date that you were able to take the old SAT; the formatting of the SAT has now changed.
In the old SAT, the highest score possible was 2400; it is now 1600. The writing section is now optional; however, it was mandatory in the old SAT. Before, point penalties were given if a question was incorrect and no points given if one was skipped. Now it is better to guess on a question than to skip a question as the number of points deducted are the same.
“Many students believe that the new SAT is much easier since the writing section is now optional and that in the new SAT, vocabulary was toned down compared to the ones in the old SAT,” John Kim, a sophomore attending John Marshall High School, told JSR.“I prefer the old SAT, because it hasn’t change in a long time and that I am just used to the questions and format of the old SAT.”
Some people accept the new changes to the SAT since they are more open to the change and hope this is an improvement from the old SAT.
“Learning how to study for the SAT is not taught at most schools, as it is not in the curriculum, said Andrew Lee, a junior attending John Marshall High School. “Many parents send their children to after schools to help them prepare for the SAT. In the new SAT, the vocabulary was more relevant to our daily conversations and students do not have to memorize 500 SAT vocabulary words anymore.”
The new changes to the SAT are still being developed by College Board and are being processed. Until the new SAT is finalized, there will be constant views and debate by high school students getting ready for the upcoming SAT testing.
“The new SAT is now more fair to the students who can’t afford SAT Preparation Schools and can take a shot at the SAT without having a disadvantage,” said Lee.
