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The Digital SAT
why this now all electronic test is a waste of everyone’s time BY ELYAS LAUBACH
On January 25, College Board announced that the SAT will be moving completely digital by 2024. While students will still have to take the test at proctored testing centers, they will do so on their computers. The exam will be shortened from three hours to two hours, since reading passages will be shorter and have fewer questions. Students will also be able to use their calculators on both math sections. This announcement comes amid claims that requiring SAT/ ACT scores on college applications is unfair because people who cannot afford expensive test prep courses are at a disadvantage. Others have advocated for shorter exams to reduce
student stress and anxiety. Over 1800 US colleges, including Harvard, are already at least test-optional, and the California system is completely test-blind. The new Digital SAT is a waste of everyone’s time. The exam is becoming so watered down that it is no longer an accurate measure of a student’s skills—which many say it never has been. Colleges will place even less emphasis on test scores when considering applications, and therefore more institutions will move test-optional and eventually test-blind. This makes the new SAT useless for students too, as they will have to focus on other factors in developing a more well-rounded appli-
cation, and yet still prepare for a test that likely won’t impact their admission chances all that much. For many students, especially those with already packed after-school schedules, this makes it harder to get into the schools they want to attend. With the admissions process moving towards testblind policies, College Board tried to re-imagine the SAT and adapt to the changing times in a lastditch effort to preserve what has been a huge source of their revenue for the last 70 years, but only increased the burden on students. 25
