That is a very good point.
I don’t know if ACT’s days are that numbered though, because I expect if the SAT digital version catches on quickly, they will simply go digital too. They already have a computer based version of their test. They say that for now, in the States at least, they are sticking with paper, but I bet they are just waiting to see how College Board does.
I think most are, but not all, as I mentioned about the schools we have chosen that intentionally do not rely on using computer technology.
Well, they should start taking practice tests then. PSAT/NMSQTs are digital only from here on out, so if students want to try to qualify for National Merit awards they are going to need to take the digital test.
I have little confidence in ACTs ability to roll out a digital test in the US…I’m not even sure they are close to fully staffed right now. I do hope they can stay competitive because competition is good and I (like many) am no fan of the CollegeBoard.
Yes, absolutely. There’s a physicality to academic work that I see getting lost in a number of different arenas — kids reading PDFs instead of printed reading packages, syllabi getting emailed out instead of printed and handed out, and adaptive tests where students can’t move on to the next question until they answer the one before, and can’t go back to correct previous answers. I understand from the linked docs that students can go back within the SAT, but there’s still that loss of physicality that I think is going to make this a lot tougher for a lot of kids. In the documents they talk about being able to highlight and add notes to reading passages, but there’s a modality shift in going from reading a screen to typing, whereas reading with a pencil, running the pencil lightly under each line, circling key verbs, or negators, or other key details … it’s all of one piece, and there’s no friction between the two modes.
SAT hasn’t given exams in mainland China for a number of years due to cheating.
Oh ho! I can understand how opening that market up — especially when so much of their previous US market got obliterated by test-optional applications — would justify all sorts of post hoc rationalization on the part of the College Board.
I have one of each! Regardless, the strategy of working quickly through a difficult question and found back to it in the end has worked out well for them.
In the reading, in particular, the most difficult passage is not always the last one. I frequently hear of kids who ran out of time after being stuck in a difficult middle passage.
This is the reason I’m encouraging my ‘25 to prep over the summer and take the SAT in the fall.
I struggle with that in work. I deal with construction drawing packages that are hundreds of pages long. It’s so tough working with a PDF set. I end up making copies of lots of details, one at a time. I so wish I could get a hard copy to work with, but that doesn’t happen anymore. In some cases, I don’t think new technology is helpful. I don’t think I would have done well on a digital SAT.
The good news is that the digital sat reading passages are shorter (25-150 words) and only have one question per text as compared to paper sat which has long passages of 600-700 words with 11 questions.
Not sure if I think this is good news.
Edit- No, I’m sure I think it is not. I haven’t liked any verbal changes since they started making them in the 1990s, but this sounds even worse.
This is me as well. I was a great test taker, and I’d fly through the questions and I’d make light tick marks for the ones that I skipped or wanted to go back to. And then afterwards I usually had enough times to at least skim all of the questions again. I would have a very hard time with this format, but I’d have a hard time doing it all on a computer anyway. I’m just so old school. I wonder if kids who have grown up taking standardized tests on the computer will feel more comfortable.
It is good news for purposes of going back and forth between screens (which long passages with 11 questions would require). That’s just one of the changes made to the digital SAT, including that writing questions will no longer test commonly confused words or idiomatic phrases, and the “No Change” option in writing questions is removed.
Remember in the big picture, this test is much less important in college admissions than it used to be. Many people who work in the admissions industry don’t see much value in these tests. Seems at least 50% of college applicants are applying without tests at this point, and of course a number of colleges have gone test blind, notably the 33 UC/CSUs.
Does anyone have any experience with the New Digital SAT with adaptive question difficulty? How does it change the preparing and also how are the difficulties designed?
I can’t answer these questions. I would take a look at the link to compass prep’s take on the digital sat in post #13 and also google Applerouth’s info about digital sat.
I can’t speak to the experience of the digital SAT personally (obviously), but my DS took a pilot digital test a week before his first attempt at the SAT in 2022. He said he preferred it and it was easy to navigate. I don’t know how his performance on it compared to his performance on the paper test a week later, but that was his perspective. He said he was able to go back to revisit answers within a section just like on the paper SAT. He said that the EVBRW section is one section rather than two separate sections. It is also shorter than the paper test. I have no idea how the prep companies are going to manage this, but I would think that the standard prep would still be helpful as is.
As a parent, I always try to remember that my kids are far more comfortable with computer-based testing than I am. DS24 has had a positive experience taking the SAT two times, so I have hope that the College Board knows what they are doing and will keep the test to the standard that they have always had.
I don’t think the adaptive testing changes the preparation. The first module of each of the two sections has a broad range of difficulty, like the current test. Based on performance in that section, the second module will be an easier or harder set of questions.
It means that a student who performs well on the first module will see a series of questions more tightly clustered and of higher difficulty. You won’t run into easy/basic questions on Module 2.
Similarly, lower performing students will also see appropriate questions, omitting the more difficult questions they would see on the traditional test.
But students using Khan or other tools should be working on questions at and just beyond their current level, so preparation shouldn’t change.
IMO, the feedback on r/SAT from pilot and early international testing has been largely positive. One downside right now is a lack of preparation material in the new EBRW format. Erica Meltzer released a book, and many others are now available for pre-order with Summer publication dates.
Fwiw, students are free to go back and forth between all questions in a module, just like the current test. And the current generation of high school students is quite digital - many think the idea of having to write out answers and fill in bubbles on paper is pretty ancient technology.
We are international and my daughter just took the digital in Germany. She went in cold with very little prep work (due to school work load unfortunately) but did really great! She even got a 740 on verbal which she wasn’t expecting. My older son took the paper test a few years ago and honestly I think the digital was easier…just a REALLY fast test compared to the paper. She loved the format being digital and found it “like a game” on the computer! I think the shortened test and digital ease is a huge upgrade. She is actually looking forward to prepping for it for the next round (she is a sophmore equivalent). Its WONDERFUL to see the excitment and her energy. She feels it is very do-able to master! All in all we were extremely happy!
Exactly! It seems to me that the SAT is now going to just be “icing on the cake” for their profile. I know that one of my dd’s top choices is going BACK to required testing for 2024 class however…(Purdue). We are mostly concerned with Purdue and also automatic merit scholarships (Floridas and Alabama). My daughter loved the digital format for the May test. It felt very natural for her…she didn’t have time to prep (just one weekend due to overload with schoolwork). I think her scores may greatly improve with practice…But all in all, it was a great test!
I have a feeling that is the case with a lot of the engineering/stem schools. I think they need a “check” on quality of the transcript.
Not college, but my kid’s boarding school really struggled to place students correctly for math without having the additional testing data and a lot of kids ended up dropping levels as the semester went on.
All I can say is YUCK. My DS worked so, so hard to conquer the length of time standardized test but he did, and now does extremely well. We eventually found out that his processing speed, compared to other parts of his brain is relatively slow. Not sure how he will fare with an even faster paced test.