US Students to Take SAT Online in 2024 as the College Admission Exams Go Digital

The college admission exams will do away with pencils and papers in 2024 as SAT will soon be entirely digital. The change in exam platform will start in 2023 for international students and 2024 in the US.

Other changes would include reducing the number of hours of the exam from three to two hours, shorter reading passages, and allowing the students to use a calculator in the math section.

Designated testing centers

The test will be at a test center or a school, but students are free to choose between using their own devices: whether it's a tablet, laptop, or the school's device.

Priscilla Rodriguez of the College Board said that the digital SAT would be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant.

The College Board, the organization behind the test, said that the digital exam was developed with the help of educators students, and they are adapting to meet the "evolving needs."

Initially, the plan was to offer an at-home digital test. But that project was scrapped, as the organization is concerned about students not accessing three hours of uninterrupted internet and power.

This pandemic, people have constantly struggled to access a reliable internet connection, especially in rural and low-income areas.

The SAT is designed to autosave, so students will not lose their work in power or broadband interruption cases.

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Other features of the digital SAT

The SAT will still have the familiar sections, like being scored on a 1600 scale. It is still has a multiple-choice section. The test is shorter as it relies on adaptive testing, such that the test changes based on the answers of the students. It aims to reduce the time students spend answering easy or difficult questions.

The digital format is easier to administer, the College Board said, because the schools do not have to worry about shipping or receiving the tests.

The students will also get their test scores back in days.

Relevance of SAT and ACT

These developments come as the relevance of SAT and ACT, its counterpart, is being questioned as more than 1,800 US colleges do not require a test score for the said exams for students aiming to enroll in the fall of 2022.

In November, the University California system permanently removed the tests from its admission requirement after a lawsuit. The lawsuit challenged the use of SAT and ACT as a requirement for admission at the University of California systems.

It further argued that the tests used to measure aptitude for college are biased, do not provide meaningful information about the student's success, and thus must be unconstitutional.

The tests, according to Atty. Mark Rosenbaum, the lawyer of students and a collection of advocacy groups, is "exacerbating inequities in the public school system and keeping out deserving students every admissions cycle."

NBC News reported that there had been a significant decline in the number of test-takers. In 2020, at least 2.2 million took the exam. In 2021, only about 1.5 million class members took the SAT exam.

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