Students usually prep for those tests by practicing on the old real tests, not made up tests. There are no real new SAT tests yet, it would be very hard to prepare for the new test.
It is interesting that the Collegeboard are asking students to take another PSAT for them to do their comparisons between old and new, and this is all for their benefit, but they are not paying the students for their time. After all, it is few hours out of those students’ time. They have no problem in charging students when it is for the students’ benefit.
A friend of mine is freshman in college and CB did pay (I think about 100$) to any student (no sure if only freshman) willing to take the new SAT test few months ago. She actually thought it was a bit easier and close to the format of our state’s standardized tests . She never got results back so I doubt the “easier” part.
For class of 2018 is it a good idea to take old SAT or New SAT
My S is doing the old SAT as well. He will prep this summer and take it once or twice next Fall/Winter. Our decision was also based on a very good score on his sophomore PSAT this year.
@srjsdc It depends on your child. The old SAT will be offered for the last time in January 2016. Is your child prepared to take the SAT for fall of 2015 (to give them an opportunity to retake it for the last time in January 2016)? Taking the New SAT will in my opinion be better since by the time they’ll take it, the test will have been administered a few times already (predicting their first attempt at the new SAT is junior spring)
Sorry folks, I need to hijack this thread and chuckle. Don’t you mean the new, new SAT? My son was a 2006 HS grad and tests recently changed then- 10 years ago (time flies!) compared to the many decades of the SAT format used until then. Good luck to all. You’ll be happy when this, too, is ancient history.
I just took a look at the newly released PSAT. I think the math is more difficult. Would be interested in what others think.
The new PSAT math portion is much more involved than the current “puzzle” type math problems. One question may involve multiple concepts and there are many in depth word problems . My concern is that this new version is greatly dependent on the quality of school math teaching, which varies considerably along SES lines. The old SAT was dependent on innate understanding of math concepts . I do think the old SAT could ferret out smart math kids even if they had crummy math instruction.
Unfortunately, it was also susceptible to some strategy prep in a way that the new one is not.
I think the main objective of the redesigned test was to reduce the impact of outside prep. Ironically, families that can afford private tutors will still have an advantage, while middle class kids who used to be able to pick up some extra points on the SAT from a Kaplan type course will be at a disadvantage.
My practical advice as a parent of a sophomore:
Kids with great CR scores but lower math scores may be better off taking the current SAT before it vanishes. Also, kids who do well with lots of practice may benefit as well from the current version.
xiggi said:
And how. I’m familiar with every single Prep book. The best of them hit the mark with some types of questions. No prep book I have yet encountered has hit the mark when it comes to the breadth of the reading passages in the blue book and the answers to reading passages. Some of have been way off in those answers and unbalanced in the scope of reading.
Yep. That’s exactly what’s happening.
Coleman promised to make the new test more math and data-friendly, and the Sample Test shows that so far he is keeping his promise. The essay portion will be difficult for anyone with crummy English teaching (insufficient writing practice), which includes an awful lot of people, just in this country alone.
Post 26: The old SAT still counts for the class of 2017. By the way, it’s stupid that CB is releasing the test halfway through an academic year. Either the release date should be fall of 2016 – allowing a full academic year of the same test, or the old SAT should also be honored throughout the 2015-16 academic year, allowing that year’s Juniors their choice of which test to take. Right now all of my sophomores are in a mad rush to take the old test and get their top score by the end of this calendar year – pressure which previous classes have not suffered, nor will later ones.
My 10th grade son just took a version of the new PSAT today. College board picked certain high schools/students to give it to. Supposedly they were the last group to take it. College board is going to look at their previous score versus the score they got on the new test and see how they compare. The student and the high school will not get any scores back. The benefit to the student was that they got to see how it would be compared to the old PSAT.
DS is NOT a STEM student. He is the type that reads books every day but doesn’t like math. He told me that he felt that the reading and the writing part of the test was a lot easier. He didn’t seem to think the math part was any harder than the current test. The old test was done on paper and the new test was done online. He had extra time left over on the old test. He did not have time left on the new test. So I’m wondering if the new test has more questions than the old test.
Thanks for posting! I’d be interested to know how well he thought the computer interface worked. Was he able to return to previous questions to review his answers? If so, could he mark ones he wanted to return to? How did he feel about the size of the screen vs. being able to see both the reading passages and the question?
I’ll PM you.
I’m glad to have found this thread. It has helped solidify my thinking and plans for my sophomore daughter.
Almost all factors line up to say she should do some intense prep this summer and then take the current version of the SAT this fall, up to a maximum of 4 times (with the final being in January 2016). Hopefully she won’t need to take it 4 times, but she’ll have that option.
Why this strategy?
(A) Too many unknowns with a new SAT test. I’m sure it will have some kinks in the beginning. Don’t want my child to be a guinnea pig for the test creators. (And feel the same for any '17 or '18 student!)
(B) No reliable practices / prep resources for the new SAT, whereas there are tons for the current SAT.
(C ) Yes, the ACT is an option, but some students tend to test better on the SAT versus the ACT (and vice versa); it would be a shame for them to not have the opportunity to take the test best suited for their strengths;
(D) My daughter took the SAT as a 7th grader and did very well (1800s) with minimal prep. That makes me think she’s suited for the existing SAT.
(E) Compared to the ACT, the current SAT is a “known entity” to my daughter and to me (because my son took it last year and I helped tutor him), and we already have some of the prep books.
(F) If she manages to buckle down and study this summer and do well enough in the fall, it will be nice to have that part of the testing behind her early in the process. She can focus in the spring on AP tests and subject tests instead.
My recommendation for any sophomore would be to do a full practice ACT test and a full practice SAT test. If the ACT score is significantly higher than the SAT score (and various sites will show you how to compare the two), then forget the SAT and focus on the ACT. However, if the SAT score is similar or higher AND your child has the opportunity to do some studying this summer, I’d have her focus on the current SAT. (All things equal, I prefer the current SAT over the ACT because of superscoring.)
“All things equal, I prefer the current SAT over the ACT because of superscoring.”
The colleges that DS13 applied to either super scored both the SAT and the ACT, Super-Super scored them together or didn’t super score at all. Which colleges only super score the SAT and not the ACT?
There are quite a few colleges that superscore the SAT but do not superscore the ACT. Here’s the list that supescore the ACT: http://www.collegeadmissionspartners.com/college-testing/colleges-superscore-act/ Most colleges and universities use some sort of SAT superscoring. These DO NOT: http://www.scoreatthetop.com/blog-1/colleges-that-do-not-superscore-the-sat