Why the NEW Digital SAT is Good News for your Student

In 2024, students across America will take a new, digital version of the SAT. As students are choosing to do more of their learning and testing on digital platforms, the College Board has decided to go digital which, from an educator’s perspective, has many benefits: accuracy, fairness, efficiency and accessibility.

While the digital SAT will measure the same core academic skills, it will do so in a different format. Previously, the test had four sections: reading, writing and language, math without a calculator, and math with a calculator. The new test will feature just two sections — reading / writing and math with a calculator — each containing two modules. Importantly, the digital test will be adaptive, meaning that the difficulty of the second module in each section will be determined by performance on the first module. In other words, students who answer more questions correctly in the first module will receive harder questions in the second.

I believe parents and educators may be wondering about the advantages of this form of testing. The fact is, adaptive testing is already used for many large-scale, standardized assessments, and decades of research suggest it leads to shorter, more efficient tests which measure students’ abilities more precisely. According to the College Board, the new test will take around two hours — rather than three — and will feature more direct and focused questions. For example, instead of a few long reading passages with multiple questions per passage, students will see shorter texts with just one question attached. Math word problems will be similarly brief.

In addition, I also believe the switch to digital testing will reduce the burden on schools and test centers to generate, distribute, and collect test materials, meaning less preparation time and a faster turnaround time for scores. Another benefit of digital tests is that they are more secure than their analog counterparts. Currently, one compromised test form can necessitate canceling scores for whole groups of students. Digital testing provides each student with a unique test form, making it nearly impossible to share answers.

Regardless of these changes, the scoring of the test will remain the same, with a maximum possible score of 1600. Harder questions will be worth more points than easier ones, such that scores will be standardized despite the varying difficulty for each student.

Some of my students have expressed concerns about taking the test digitally and wonder if they can elect to take the old version. Unfortunately, this will not be possible, unless they require specific accommodations that necessitate it. However, the College Board is taking active steps to ensure all students feel comfortable with the new format. All practice materials will be digitized, and practice tests will be adaptive to familiarize students with this model of testing. Additionally, those who do not have their own laptop or tablet can request to borrow a device from the College Board to ensure the test is accessible to everyone.

If a student experiences technical issues on testing day, the test has been designed to function without internet connectivity, so students will not lose their progress in the event of an internet outage. To further prevent technical difficulties from disrupting the testing experience, a technology monitor will be present at each testing center to help troubleshoot issues.
In summary, the new digital SAT aims to make the testing process more efficient for students and administrators while taking advantage of adaptive testing methods that measure student’s knowledge and abilities more accurately. The transition to digital testing is an important step toward creating a more effective and accessible testing experience for all students.

In summary, the new digital SAT aims to make the testing process more efficient for students and administrators while taking advantage of adaptive testing methods that measure student’s knowledge and abilities more accurately. The transition to digital testing is an important step toward creating a more effective and accessible testing experience for all students.