I promise, there is no correlation between my talking about the new Digital SAT in the month of things that go bump in the night. As we head into next year, you’re probably going to hear more about it because it starts internationally in March 2023 and is in play domestically March 2024. This means that it will affect students who are currently sophomores or younger. That’s the reason why I am taking this time to introduce it (if you haven’t yet heard about it) and share some preliminary info.
There are lots of good things about it:
It improves accommodations available for students with learning differences
Results will be available faster (within days, not weeks)
It is a much shorter test (2 hours vs 3 hours)
It contains shorter reading passages and cover a wider range of topics
Students can have a calculator available for the entire math section
There will be more time to answer questions
It will probably increase access to testing in that College Board anticipates more high schools will offer it
It is easier to administer and take
It Improves test security which makes it less likely whole tests will need to be cancelled
One thing to prepare for as the dates get closer, is that August through December 2023 test dates may be over-subscribed for both the SAT and the ACT. This may be due to more ACT test takers due to an unwillingness to try the new digital SAT format or a surge of students who want to take the paper test before it goes away.
To learn more about the Digital SAT, you can sign up for a local or national test-prep company’s newsletter where you can read their blogs or sign up for webinars like these.
And remember, many colleges look like they are continuing to remain test-optional. Which means you can take the test and then decide if you want to send your score.
The more you learn about the new Digital SAT, the more it sounds way more “treat” than “trick”!