In January of 2022, the College Board announced major changes to the SAT: namely, starting in 2024, that the test will be entirely digital. The change will affect the class of 2025 (the current high school freshmen class). The digital test will autosave, which is intended to prevent students from losing their work in the event of an internet outage. It will also be adaptive, meaning that questions will adjust their difficulty depending upon a student’s performance as they progress through the test. The digital SAT will be unique to each student, which the College Board says will reduce cheating and improve overall test security. Students will have the option of either using their own devices or devices provided by their school.
The test will also be shortened, from three hours down to two, and include shorter reading passages. Each reading passage will only have one question related to it, and math questions will also be less wordy. Students will now be able to use calculators throughout the entirety of the math component, with the option to either bring one or use a digital one within the exam. Lastly, test results will be available for students much faster: in days, instead of the close to two weeks it currently takes.
Some aspects, however, will remain unchanged: the test will still be scored out of a possible 1600 points, the test will still be held at an approved location and proctored, and the test material itself will stay the same.
According to the CollegeBoard, the revamped SAT will be more equitable, secure, flexible–and less stressful. Having the test entirely digital will give school districts and educators more opportunities during the school year to administer the exam. Students have responded favorably to the changes thus far: in a November 2021 pilot of the digital SAT, 80% of students reported experiencing less stress than they do with the current version of the exam, and 100% of exam administrators reported a positive experience.
The new format marks the latest in a series of changes to the SAT. A year ago, for example, the College Board removed SAT subject tests and the SAT essay question. This is the largest shift to date, as more colleges than ever before have gone test-optional due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, millions of students continue to take the SAT each year, and 83% of students surveyed by the College Board said that they wanted to continue to have the option to submit their test scores to colleges.