For high school students interested in college, the SAT is the most important test of their high school careers. Colleges put a lot of emphasis on a student’s SAT score when determining whether to admit a student. As if this pressure is not enough, in March my class, the class of 2006, will be the first to take the new SAT.
Essay writing and advanced algebra have been added while analogies (fly is to plane as drive is to car) and quantitative comparisons (which is greater?) have been removed. For some students hoping to do well, these changes make an already stressful test even worse.
"The SAT is one of the biggest tests of my life. No matter how many prep classes, and no matter how many SAT practice books I buy, I don’t think it will matter because the day of the test, I will definitely be nervous," said Bell High School junior Ashley Zartner. "It, along with grades and extracurriculars, will probably determine which college I get into and ultimately, the rest of my life."
Other students like Beini Shi, a junior at Palisades High School, are not ready to stress out just yet. "I don’t like to stress. I want to go to a good college and all that, but it’s a little early to start worrying a lot," Beini said.
Whether you’re already freaking out about the SAT or are just a little bit nervous, knowing what you’re up against can be one of the best ways to beat anxiety.
Colleges like the new test
The new SAT will include a writing section and many educators and admissions officers have been quoted as saying that is a positive addition. The Dean of Admissions at the University of Virginia said in an interview on the College Board’s Web site that adding a writing section "will send an important message to the nation that writing is important for all students going on to college."
The College Board, which created the test, believes that writing and advanced math are important for a student’s success in college. Adding them to the test will make students and teachers focus on these skills.
This new writing section will consist of multiple-choice "grammar and usage" questions, and an essay that students will have 25 minutes to write. The multiple-choice questions will test a student’s ability to identify sentence errors and improve sentences and paragraphs, while the essay requires a student to take a position on an issue and use reasoning and examples to support that position. The addition of the writing section means a perfect score will now be 2,400, not 1,600.
Fabiola Murcia, a junior from Santa Monica High School, says she’s excited for the writing section. "On a practice test I took, the question I got was ‘How does change provide room for improvement?’" she said. "It was a lot easier to write about my experiences than have to focus on the boring [old style] SAT questions."
In the "Verbal" section (which has been renamed "Critical Reading"), analogies have been eliminated, and what remains are sentence completions, short reading passages and long reading passages. Sentence completions test a student’s knowledge of vocabulary and the reading passages measure a student’s reading comprehension skills.
Ashley Zartner says she’s "glad they decided to get rid of those analogies and replace them with something that will actually show colleges if someone can write or not."
One final addition to the new test is the advanced algebra in the Math section. The section will include math concepts taught in Algebra II classes such as exponents, absolute value, functions, and negative and fractional exponents.
"I definitely think the math is going to make the test a little harder," said Tess Scott-Suhrstedt, a junior at Marlborough School. "I pretty much understand Algebra II so the changes don’t really bother me, but then again, they don’t excite me either. The changes will probably make a difference to people who don’t excel in that subject."
Is this fair for all?
While the College Board strongly believes that the test is fair for students of all genders, races, and socio-economic groups, I find myself wondering if that’s true.
Ashley Zartner says Bell High School offered a practice PSAT and that the college counselor met with all the juniors to stress the importance of taking it.
Beini Shi’s school, Palisades High, offered a practice test for the new SAT in the fall, but George Zuo who goes to Sierra Vista High School in Baldwin Park says his school hasn’t done anything to prepare students for the new SAT.
I come from an all-girls private school where 99 percent of graduates go on to attend college. We practice for the SATs in our math and English classes, and our college counselors have even required us to take practice tests during the school day. Almost everyone I know has been seeing an SAT tutor since 10th grade! Writing skills are constantly emphasized and in-class writing is a large part of the English curriculum. I’ve become so accustomed to this that it’s hard to imagine taking the SAT and not knowing what to expect.
Unfortunately, I’ve realized that this is not the reality for many students and that there are many injustices in the college admissions process.
SAT study tips
So what does a student who’s nervous about the new test do? Not everyone can afford a private tutor or enrollment in a prep-course, but there are ways to prepare on nearly every budget. If you’re planning on taking the test, you should definitely visit the College Board’s Web site for up-to-date information on the new SAT. On the Web site you can find plenty of practice questions, and even print out a copy of an entire practice test.
Test-prep companies like Princeton, Kaplan and Ivy West also make books filled with test-taking strategies and full-length practice tests for the new SAT, and almost all are less than $20. Kaplan makes a book called Inside the New SAT: 10 Strategies to Help You Score Higher for only $5.50! They even have a "Higher Score Guarantee" meaning if your score doesn’t improve after buying the book, you can get your money back.
The Collge Board publishes The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT.
Also check out the College Board’s Web site to see answers to frequently asked questions (when you should take it, what scores will look like, what colleges want) about the new SAT.
Click to check free online sample tests with the answers expalined.
Collegeboard — this site provides a free printable practice test (from the makers of the real test) as well as sample questions with answers explained. Answers to frequently asked questions are also provided.
Princeton Review — this site provides answers to frequently asked questions about the new test. A FREE online practice test is also offered, along with sample questions.
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