What You Need to Know About the Redesigned SAT
Like it or not, prepared or not, ready or not...The Redesigned SAT is coming! When will it make its debut? The first administration will take place in the spring of 2016. If you're one of those students preparing to take this new SAT or a teacher or parent helping a student prepare, then you probably have a question or two about the redesign. Here are a few things you need to know about the exam from the changed test questions, to new test design, to scoring to much, much more.
Read on for the details!
Perhaps you're a visual learner. In that case, this quick, easy chart will help you picture the differences between the current SAT exam and the redesigned exam in case you can't imagine what the new test will actually look like. More »
Overall, the test will be getting eight major changes, and the link above explains them all. New test content will be introduced, new graphics will be used, new question formats will be utilized and the old penalty will be going away. The details are exciting!More »
The Critical Reading and Writing sections are being ousted and the new "Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Language" section will take its place. The first major facet of that section is the Reading Test. Here's info about the 52 questions you'll find in 5 different sections and the 16 different skills you'll need to master prior to taking it. Plan to spend 65 minutes or less on this portion of the Redesigned SAT. More »
The second major section of "Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Language" is this section, the Writing and Language test. Here, you'll answer 44 questions in 35 minutes in 4 different passage-based sections. Thirty different skills will be examined on this portion of the test, so be sure to brush up on your grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and be ready to revise, revise, revise. Note that the essay will not be part of this test, since it will be optional! More about that in a minute. More »
The SAT Math section is the next major area of the exam that will be undergoing huge changes. On the Redesigned SAT Math test, you'll encounter 57 different questions in 2 sections (Calculator and No Calculator) and will spend 80 minutes figuring it all out. Three different question types await you: multiple choice, grid-in and an extended-thinking grid-in. Extended thinking? Yes, you read that correctly. More »
This time, it's optional. That's right. The SAT will no longer have a required essay. You still may need to take it, however, based on the requirements of the university to which you're applying. If you do, there are some huge changes you'll need to know about before you sharpen those pencils. For starters? The graders aren't interested in your opinion on a particular matter anymore. Instead, you'll be analyzing an author's argument, looking for weaknesses in style, tone, and logic, and then writing an evaluation of his or her essay. Sound a touch more difficult? It certainly is. More »
And this is the big one, isn't it? Everyone is always interested in the SAT score. So much, in fact, that people sink thousands of dollars in test prep just to make sure theirs is good enough! Here's a rundown of the 18 different SAT scores you'll see on your score report when you get your SAT score back. Yes, that's 18. You will no longer get just a couple of scores. Everything is analyzed and you'll see area scores, subscores, test scores, cross-test scores and more. More »
Read on for the details!
Current SAT Vs. Redesigned SAT Chart
Perhaps you're a visual learner. In that case, this quick, easy chart will help you picture the differences between the current SAT exam and the redesigned exam in case you can't imagine what the new test will actually look like. More »
8 Key Changes of the Redesigned SAT
Overall, the test will be getting eight major changes, and the link above explains them all. New test content will be introduced, new graphics will be used, new question formats will be utilized and the old penalty will be going away. The details are exciting!More »
Evidence-Based Reading Test
The Critical Reading and Writing sections are being ousted and the new "Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Language" section will take its place. The first major facet of that section is the Reading Test. Here's info about the 52 questions you'll find in 5 different sections and the 16 different skills you'll need to master prior to taking it. Plan to spend 65 minutes or less on this portion of the Redesigned SAT. More »
Evidence-Based Writing and Language Test
The second major section of "Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Language" is this section, the Writing and Language test. Here, you'll answer 44 questions in 35 minutes in 4 different passage-based sections. Thirty different skills will be examined on this portion of the test, so be sure to brush up on your grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and be ready to revise, revise, revise. Note that the essay will not be part of this test, since it will be optional! More about that in a minute. More »
The Redesigned Math Test
The SAT Math section is the next major area of the exam that will be undergoing huge changes. On the Redesigned SAT Math test, you'll encounter 57 different questions in 2 sections (Calculator and No Calculator) and will spend 80 minutes figuring it all out. Three different question types await you: multiple choice, grid-in and an extended-thinking grid-in. Extended thinking? Yes, you read that correctly. More »
The Redesigned Essay
This time, it's optional. That's right. The SAT will no longer have a required essay. You still may need to take it, however, based on the requirements of the university to which you're applying. If you do, there are some huge changes you'll need to know about before you sharpen those pencils. For starters? The graders aren't interested in your opinion on a particular matter anymore. Instead, you'll be analyzing an author's argument, looking for weaknesses in style, tone, and logic, and then writing an evaluation of his or her essay. Sound a touch more difficult? It certainly is. More »
Redesigned Scoring
And this is the big one, isn't it? Everyone is always interested in the SAT score. So much, in fact, that people sink thousands of dollars in test prep just to make sure theirs is good enough! Here's a rundown of the 18 different SAT scores you'll see on your score report when you get your SAT score back. Yes, that's 18. You will no longer get just a couple of scores. Everything is analyzed and you'll see area scores, subscores, test scores, cross-test scores and more. More »
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