Health & Fitness
A New SAT By Spring 2016
The College Board yesterday announced major changes to the SAT, which will be in effect by spring of 2016. The changes include a substantial revision to the writing test and use of more common vocabularies in the English portion.
What Does it Mean For Student
High School Sophomore, Juniors and Seniors pretty much won’t be affected. By Spring of 2016, they should be done for their SAT and finish college applications. Freshman will definitely be tested on the new format, be aware of the new test prep material when planning to take the SAT since the new format will be adding science material, students who are weak in science should plan early.
Find out what's happening in Castro Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
What are The Key Changes
The overall scoring will return to the old 1,600-point scale instead of the current 2400. It will be based on a top score of 800 in reading and math. The essay will have a separate score.
Find out what's happening in Castro Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The writing test will be optional. Currently, even though many colleges ignore writing test scores, all students must take the writing portion of the test.
The current SAT essay require students to cite their own experiences or values to respond to a statement. The essay will ask the students to respond to a passage of writing, and must analyze evidence. Both of their analysis and their writing will be evaluated.
Reading sections, like the writing section, will see a shift in focus so that students must cite evidence from passages to support their answers.
Points will no longer be deducted for incorrect answers on the multiple choice part of the test. Currently, one-quarter of a point is deducted for each incorrect answer, so students engage in strategy games about when they have eliminated enough incorrect answers to make it worthwhile to guess.
Vocabulary words will eliminate "sometimes obscure" language that has been dominant and will be replaced by words "that are widely used" in college and the workplace. In testing of words, the College Board will stress those for which meaning depends on context. The College Board gave as examples of such words as "synthesis" and "empirical."
Mathematics questions will be narrowed to focus on three areas: "problem solving and data analysis," algebra and "passport to advanced math." The College Board says that the much wider range of topics now featured will be eliminated so that students can study specific areas and feel confident they will be tested.
Club Z Experience about SAT and ACT
Educational professionals have been criticizing SAT. It’s not close enough to reflect what the students learn in Common Core. A lot of guesses and strategies need to be mastered in order to do well in the test. ACT is getting more popular in California in the last few years. The questions in ACT are more consistent, less sticky and closer to what students learn in school. In Club Z of Walnut Creek and Castro Valley, we also experience increasing popularity of ACT among local parents and students in the last few years, especially those who are strong in Math and Science.
When parents ask us, which test should their kids take, SAT or ACT. One recommendation we always give is, if the student is stronger in Math and Science, ACT will give them an advantage with a separate science section. In other words, students who are weaker in science should avoid ACT since their score will be dragged down by the science section.
About the Author
Matt has been helping local parents and students to achieve their academic goals. Please visit his official Blog for different topics in tutoring and SAT/ACT Prep. Matt also serves as Area Director of Club Z In-Home Tutoring of Walnut Creek, Lamorinda, Berkeley and Castro Valley.
