By Angelina Tang
Following the post-pandemic trend of everything digitizing, College Board’s SAT exam has gone digital for the spring of 2024. Juniors taking the exam soon are likely already aware that they will be foregoing the pencil and paper for a laptop or tablet, but for the underclassmen planning out their high school careers and just in case you didn’t know, here’s a run down of the new exam.
The new digital SAT has been revamped for the screens. First of all, the exam is now 100% digital. Students still have to go to the testing center to take it, however, and they must bring their own device with the Bluebook app installed. This is the app on which the exam is administered, fit with a timer and built-in calculator for the math section. A list of compatible devices and versions is available online; if you don’t have one, you can borrow a school chromebook or request College Board ship you a device at least 30 days in advance.
The SAT is still made up of the same content: math and English. Two adjustments, however, include the fact that the entire math section is calculator-based, now, and the English section will contain short passages, as opposed to the long ones you may be used to seeing in practice tests’ reading sections. The exam has also been shortened to take only 2 hours, as opposed to 3, so enjoy getting to leave that non-air-conditioned room sooner in the middle of the summer. Students are also allegedly supposed to get more time per question, on average; this is for the purpose of decreasing stress on students, according to the College Board. Finally, students can get their scores back much faster in mere days, as multiple choice questions are easy for a computer to calculate the score to. Thus, students who need that last minute score in the summertime for college applications and students who need to know whether or not they need a retake will be on less of a time crunch.
Why go digital? As previously mentioned, the College Board wants to decrease stress on students, and the digital version of the SAT has, according to prepscholar.com, produced lower stress levels for 80% of students based on data from the digital exam’s pilot in November of 2021. The idea of digitizing has been in the works for years, so this gradual transition shouldn’t be a huge surprise.
Students are advised to still treat the SAT exam with the same level of preparation as with the more intimidating pen and paper version. Make sure you study and bring your device with the app already installed, a charger if necessary, your entry ticket for the exam, an ID, a physical calculator if desired, a watch to make sure you get back from your breaks on time, and a snack and water for your break. The next test dates that registration is open for are May 4th and June 1st. Good luck to the underclassmen and juniors taking the SAT soon!
