The Scantron bubbles were gone. So were the long passages and the pressure to read quickly. #2 pencils? Optional and for note taking only.
On Saturday, students across America took the latest version of the SAT, which was shorter, faster — and most importantly, all online.
Some exams were briefly plagued by technical glitches, but even so, many test-takers had positive views of the new format. They were particularly relieved at the shortness of the exam – which was reduced from three hours to just over two hours – as well as being able to set their own pace as they worked through the questions.
“It’s here to stay,” said Harvey Joyner, 17, a student at Maynard H. Jackson High School in Atlanta, referring to the digital format. “Computers are what we’re most comfortable with.”
Given on paper for 98 years, the SAT has been updated to reflect the experience of a generation raised in an era of higher stress, challenging attention spans and distance learning. The change comes as the College Board, which administers the test, and test standardization advocates say the tests still have a place in determining college acceptance and aptitude.
Disrupted by the pandemic and rocked by concerns that the tests favor high-income students, the SAT has had a shaky few years, with many colleges removing standardized tests as a requirement for admission. Some selective universities, including Brown, Yale, Dartmouth and MIT, reinstated the test, but at most schools, it remained optional.
The current iteration of the test aims to take some of the intimidation out of the process and assess today’s students with tools they are more used to. The test has been shortened and students have more time for each question. The reading passages are much shorter, and a graphing calculator is built into the app for the math unit, which some see as a way to level low-income students.
The tests are also harder to cheat, with “adaptive” questions that become harder or easier depending on the student’s performance. Students can bring their own laptops or tablets or use school equipment, but they can’t have another app running in the background and must take the test in a public testing center with an invigilator roaming the room.
Several students seemed to welcome this new format on Saturday. Naysa Srivastava, a 17-year-old test taker in Chicago, found that the brevity of the reading passages and the built-in calculator better reflected her experience as an online learner. “Almost all of my classes are digital,” he said.
Elijah McGlory, 18, a senior at Druid Hills High School in Atlanta, said the digital exam was “so much better” compared to the paper version. “I asked more questions online,” he said.
Danny Morrison, 16, a junior who also took the test in Atlanta, found the adaptive math questions more difficult. However, he said he still prefers the new test because on paper “reading is so tiring”.
Saren Pitts, a retired teacher who has worked for four years as a custodian in and around Chicago, noticed several of her students echoing the sentiment after the test she supervised Saturday. But he added that some “preferred paper because digital was harder on the eyes.”
Ms Pitts said the main difference she noticed with the new format on Saturday was the shortened testing time, which some teachers see as a negative change for students. Critics of the new SAT have said the shorter tests and reading passages don’t help students develop the greater reading stamina they need amid constant distractions from technology.
But the speed of the test was offset by a number of technical issues.
The start of exams was postponed in some exam centers as students faced problems connecting to Wi-Fi. Specifically, testers in Oak Park and River Forest and Georgia State University experienced delays of 30 to 45 minutes due to connectivity issues.
“It took a while for everyone to get online,” said Matthew Schmidt, a 16-year-old junior from Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. “But this is the first time they’ve done the digital SAT.”
On social media, students and parents reported other glitches, including math answers appearing wrong and calculations freezing on the screen. In New York, Lida Safa, 15, noticed technical issues like a student needing a charger at her test center. And she brought her own calculator, just as a backstop in case the online one felt too unfamiliar.
This is not the first time that examinees have encountered malfunctions in digital versions of standardized tests. In recent years, several high school students taking online Advanced Placement tests have had problems with functions such as submitting their answers and logging in.
Priscilla Rodriguez, senior vice president of college readiness assessments at the College Board, said “the vast majority of students” were able to complete the new SAT on Saturday.
“As with paper-and-pencil tests, individual student or test center problems are possible with digital tests,” Ms. Rodriguez said. He added that those who had problems with the exams could retake the exams if needed.
And the students didn’t seem too bothered by Saturday’s involvement. Naysa, in Chicago, saw errors as an inevitable feature of any new system. And Danny, in Atlanta, said, “I think as they go on, they’re going to get more efficient.”
Several also liked a test mode that puts each student on a self-timer, rather than leaving stop and start times up to the coach.
“Before, it was your teacher who had to get all the timing right and you had to wait for everyone to finish to go to recess,” said Lora Paliakov, 16, of Atlanta.
Matthew, the 16-year-old in Chicago, noted that “you could work more at your own pace.” This, some found, made the whole testing experience less stressful.
Nerves, however, were another matter. Linda, a 15-year-old in New York who attends the Razi School, a private Islamic institution, had taken the paper test in December and had a good sense of what to expect. “But I didn’t know about that,” she said, referring to the new format.
So she relied on some home remedies before going to the exam. A light breakfast. A trick she’s used to quiet her mind — counting her fingers by touching each to her thumb in turn. And a little prayer before opening her MacBook for the test her math teacher had taught her.
“To be honest? It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he said. “I feel like I probably did better this time.”
Dana Goldstein contributed to the report.
