The SAT happens to be a standardized assessment exercise employed for college admissions in the United States. After its launch in 1926, its name and scoring have gone through several transformations over the years. Originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it, later on, became Scholastic Assessment Test and then SAT I: Reasoning Test to finally settle down to merely SAT.
Earlier, the SAT used to be an examination involving pen and paper that was intended to test the language and mathematical skills of applicants aspiring to go abroad for undergraduate courses. From March 2023 onwards, SAT, despite altering the names of the sections, will continue to gauge knowledge and skills, including the use of reading/writing passages across a range of academic disciplines.
Period
The current SAT will be shorter than the previous one, 2 hours and 14 minutes (64 minutes for Reading and Writing and 70 minutes for Math) rather than 3 hours. This implies that those who sit for the exam have more time at their disposal to crack the same.
Tweaks In The Sections
The verbal section, having two segments earlier: Reading and Writing & Language, has been merged into one: Reading and Writing. Instead of a few long texts with a wider range of subjects, candidates will now get shorter passages with a single (discrete) question belonging to each passage or passage pair.
As for the quantitative aptitude section, the topics involved have been expanded. However, as a huge relief for candidates, calculators will be permitted throughout the math section. Broadly speaking, the math section has been divided into Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-solving & Data Analysis, and Trigonometry & Geometry.
The major change in the new version is “Multistage Adaptive Testing.” This implies that SAT, from now on, will focus on things that are more appropriate in the current scenario for a student’s performance.
The paper will have two modules from now on: Module 1 will have easy and tough problems to solve, and Module 2 will have a mix of difficult questions based on their performance in Module 1.
