Put your pencils down: a famous test is going all digital<\/p>\n
Hi there everyone, I’m Jeff and this is Plain English lesson number 444. JR is the producer and he has uploaded the full lesson to PlainEnglish.com\/444. <\/p>\n
Coming up today: The SAT is one of two standardized tests that students use in their applications to colleges and universities. This is the year 2022 and test is still administered with paper and pencil, a number-2 pencil to be exact. But that is about to change as the test-makers are adopting a digital format starting in 2024. And so an almost century-old ritual will take a modern form in a few years. However, the SAT may never be what it once was. We’ll tell you why later on in the lesson.<\/p>\n
We have an expression for you today, “just in case.” The video lesson online will discuss a way to talk about something that will happen in the future. And we have a quote of the week. Let’s dive in.<\/p>\n
They are three small letters that strike fear in the hearts of teenagers in the United States: S-A-T. It stands for the “Scholastic Aptitude Test,” a standardized test high-schoolers here usually take in preparation for college. The College Board is a private company that administers the test, and they announced major changes in the format of the SAT starting in 2024.<\/p>\n
But this comes at a time when many universities are starting to doubt whether the SAT provides much value in analyzing prospective students. When the SAT goes all digital in 2024, it may be a much-diminished version of itself.<\/p>\n
For those of you who don’t know, “high school” in America is a four-year experience that usually runs from about age 14 to about age 18. After that, high school graduates have a number of<\/a> options. Many leave school and begin their careers in the workforce. But those who want to further their education can choose a four-year college or university; they can choose a two-year associate’s degree; or they can choose from a variety of vocational programs designed to teach a specific skill.<\/p>\n Students who want to go to a four-year degree must submit applications, usually in the winter or spring of their senior year\u2014their last year in high school. The application includes a transcript of the applicant’s grades, a personal essay, and, critically, test scores. There are two widely-accepted tests in the US system, the SAT and the ACT. The SAT is more popular, so we’ll talk about that one today.<\/p>\n The SAT is not a test about specific things you learned in school. Instead<\/a> , it’s intended to measure how well you can read, how well you can write, and how well you can deal with numbers. It’s supposed to be about your problem-solving skills, logic, and time-management.<\/p>\n Most of the test is multiple-choice and you use a number-2 pencil to fill in the circle that corresponds with your choice. For generations, high schoolers had to come prepared with several pencils, just in case<\/a> ; they had to be sharp; and all the answer-bubbles had to be completely filled in. <\/p>\n The test is three hours long and is administered by representatives of the College Board to prevent cheating. After three hours, the administrator tells you to put your pencils down.<\/p>\n But come<\/a> 2024, high school students will put their pencils down for good<\/a> . That’s because the College Board announced the test would become all-digital. Students will be able to take the tests on laptops or tablets, but still in a supervised environment.<\/p>\n They also announced that the test would be shortened from three hours to two hours. The results will come faster, too. Today, students have to wait months to get their results from this test. After the changes, results will be available in a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n The content of the test will be changed, too. The current SAT has long reading passages. You have to read a page or two about an unfamiliar topic, like the mating habits of some obscure animal. Then, you have to answer several questions about what you read. The test-makers said that in the new format, the passages will be shortened and they’ll provide a wider range of topics. There will also be fewer questions per passage.<\/p>\n But will this improve the SAT’s fortunes? The number of students taking the test has declined over the years, as many colleges and universities place a lower emphasis on test scores. Many universities are saying standardized tests are optional. The massive University of California system, which is comprised of ten schools, has gone even further. They don’t even consider test scores, even if students want to submit them.<\/p>\n The pandemic has accelerated the trend. In 2020, many universities temporarily waived their standardized testing requirements. Harvard University said that for the next four years, submitting test scores will be optional. The number of students taking the test plummeted, though in 2021 numbers have bounced back a little.<\/p>\n By that time, test scores may be seen less as a must-have for college applicants and more as a potential enhancement of an application. <\/p>\n I got a 1250 on my SATs. The range of scores is 400 to 1600. I would say a 1250 is good, but certainly not excellent. If you wanted to get into the most prestigious universities\u2014which I did not\u2014but if you did want that, you needed to score in the high 1400s or even 1500s.<\/p>\n The SAT is a big moment in high school. It’s like your intelligence and your prospects for life all summarized in a single number. 1500 you can be a surgeon, 1400 you can be a doctor, 1300 you could be a professor of literature or something, 1250 maybe you can have an online business someday. I’m just joking. Looking back on it, it seems arbitrary and unimportant, but at the time, it was everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The SAT exam is a standardized test high-schoolers in the United States take in preparation for college. It has always been administered the old-school way: with paper and pencil. However, beginning in 2024, students will take the exam entirely online. But fewer colleges are requiring standardized tests these days, especially after the pandemic. Is this the beginning of the end of the SAT? Plus, learn \u201cjust in case.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":12887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"lesson_category":[30],"lesson_number":[1808],"terminology_tag":[],"content_tag":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYour future in one number<\/h3>\n