Entrance exam changing scoring and making essays optional

When current high school freshmen take the SAT tests in 2016—as well as those who take the college readiness assessment exam in subsequent years—they will encounter a redesigned test focused on eight key changes made by College Board, a not-for-profit organization in charge of the SAT and the Advanced Placement Program.

Major updates include a new focus on practical vocabulary words; questions that assess how students interpret and use information sources; a new essay portion in which students will analyze an information source; a new approach to math that will stress algebra, percentages and ratios; the addition of more analytical questions in math and social studies; and a new focus on important historical documents such as the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. There will also be no penalty for wrong answers.

Along with the eight key changes the scoring system has been changed from a possible maximum score of 2400—800 for math, 800 for reading comprehension and 800 for writing—to 1600 with the essay section of the test being optional.

The newest changes negate some of the previous updates made to the test in 2005 when the essay section was introduced and the maximum score was increased from 1600 to 2400.

Martha Salazar-Zamora, deputy superintendent of instruction and administration at Round Rock ISD, said the changes are a welcome step that will bring the SAT into better alignment with the knowledge and skills students need for college.

"I think that this redesign is definitely a positive step for SAT," Salazar-Zamora said. "There's a tighter focus. There's going to be an emphasis on relevant rather than obscure vocabulary. There is greater use of real-world context and analysis of expository text from a wide range of disciplines."

As the test change is still two years away, some school districts are waiting to learn more before implementing changes in how they prepare students for the exams.

"As we learn more about the specific details of the SAT redesign, the district will utilize our strong partnership with the College Board to respond and align our systems so all students are provided opportunities to be college- and career-ready," Steven Shiels, director of college and career readiness at Pflugerville ISD, said in a statement.

Salazar-Zamora said the test itself is in a "stable format," and many of the same preparatory tools used for the current version of the test will be used in the future. She said students will still take prep courses, and students will still be encouraged to take the PSAT, a practice exam.

Many school districts—including PISD and RRISD—have begun to use Khan Academy, a not-for-profit organization that runs a website with educational resources and tools that help teachers keep track of student performance data. Khan Academy and College Board have cooperated to design prep tools for the new SAT that are free to the public.

The biggest challenge in preparing students for the new test will likely be communicating what the changes could mean for them, Salazar-Zamora said. Students will need to understand what the return to the 1600-point scale means and how they should decide whether to take the SAT's now-optional essay portion. Students hoping to enter writing-intensive fields should consider taking the essay portion, she said.

"Students are always encouraged to begin with the end in mind, knowing what the expectations are of where they want to go," Salazar-Zamora said.

College Board announced the SAT redesign in 2013 and said the new test will focus on the core knowledge and skills that are shown to be the most important to prepare students for college and career.

Less than half of the students who take the SAT are college-ready, according to the College Board website.

College Board also announced it will be transparent in order to take the mystery out of the exam, providing a full SAT blueprint before the first administering of the test in spring 2016.