On Jan. 25, 2022, College Board announced that the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) will be taken digitally as of spring 2024.
In November 2021, College Board piloted the SAT digitally in the U.S. and internationally. According to the College Board’s feedback, 80 percent of students found it to be less stressful and 100 percent of educators reported having a positive experience.
College Board said they are focused on making the SAT more accessible. Educators will no longer need to pack, sort or ship testing materials, making it easier for administrators, states, districts and schools. Additionally, students will be allowed to use their own device (laptop or tablet) to test, and College Board will provide students with a device at the testing center if they do not possess one.
“I kind of like taking it on paper, I feel like I focus better,” junior Camila Navarro. “I do think it will make it more easy to access since they’re not printed though.”
Furthermore, College Board will shorten the SAT to about two hours instead of three and will have more time for each question. Instead of waiting weeks for results, students will get their scores within days. The SAT will still be scored on a scale of 1600 and students will be allowed to have a calculator for the entire math section.
“I’m concerned that if the school has Wi-Fi or internet issues, it will compromise the test,” College Assistance Program Advisor Jan Spivak said. “I think that as long as there are no glitches, it will improve the efficiency of national tests.”
How can students prepare? Kaplan Test Prep recommends that you spend 10 to 20 hours a week for two or three months preparing for the SAT. There are also multiple sources online where you can take SAT practice tests, such as Khan Academy, the Princeton Review, Prep Scholar and ePrep. Students can also download the Bluebook testing app where you can take full-length practice tests.
According to College Board, official SAT practice tests will be adaptive and should give students the full SAT experience..
The class of 2025 will be the first students in the U.S. to take the digital SAT in spring of next year as College Board continues preparing for the changes and additionally addressing questions and concerns.