The SAT has been in the news a lot this month. On June 2nd, the Redesigned SAT was released to the public in full form, and Compass was given the first opportunity to write about it for a national audience. Our article that ran in Time can be found here.
The article discusses some of the reasons for the redesign and how many of the changes will make the SAT and the ACT look and feel more similar to one another than ever before.
In recent years, it’s been common for students to carefully analyze the distinct differences between their two college admission test choices to see if one test better fits them. Factors like pacing, question types, section lengths, scoring methods, and differing content emphases often tip students one direction or the other. Soon, those differences will be less perceptible and may matter less. Click to enlarge the rSAT Comparison Table below:
rSAT Comparison Table
Can You Tell the Difference?
The College Board will eventually provide concordance to pre-existing tests and it must leave the door open for re-centering: an essential mapping of previous scores to new scores so that colleges can fairly compare applicants who submit different tests. Colleges understandably disfavor sweeping changes to their longitudinal data sets, so it’s safe to assume the shape of the bell curve of scores will remain intact. A concordance will match students who take both the new SAT and the ACT and calculate that relationship. So despite all of the changes related to testing, the handling of scores in the admission process should remain the same.
In the meantime, class of 2017 families facing the fast-approaching SAT changes have been contemplating how to reconcile their personal timelines and decisions with those of the College Board. To many, this feels stressful. It doesn’t need to be that way. Now more than ever, Compass directors are here to help folks contextualize these changes, individualize their plans, and chart a simplified course for the year ahead.
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