SAT College Exam Moves to Computer-Based Test

The maker¹ of a test some colleges use to decide who to accept, the SAT, said it will stop offering students paper tests by 2024.

The SAT is a standardized² test. That means it is the same for everyone who takes it on the same date.

The College Board in New York City creates the SAT and PSAT tests. Most American students take these tests before applying to college. The organization said it will no longer provide paper tests for international students in 2023 and, a year later, for American students.

The test also will be one hour shorter and given to students on a computer, the organization said. However, students will still need to take the test at a school or testing center.

Priscilla Rodriguez is the vice³ president for college readiness at the College Board. She said the test will be "easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant."

The SAT tests a student's knowledge of math, reading and writing. It takes at least three hours to complete.

A number of colleges and universities made the SAT and the competing ACT optional when testing centers closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That means many students are permitted, but are not required, to send their test scores as part of their college applications. A smaller number of schools, such as those in the University of California system, decided⁴ to stop using the tests completely.

Some experts wondered if the move to make testing less important world hurt the testing companies. Rodriguez said the College Board is working to make the test better for a computer, and not just moving the paper test to a digital form.

"We're taking full advantage of what delivering an assessment⁵ digitally makes possible," she said. Assessment is another word for test.

Even with the change in test requirements, 1.5 million students still took the SAT in 2021. That number, however, is down from 2.2 million in 2020.

One organization that opposes standardized tests is FairTest. It follows how many universities do not require test scores for students currently⁶ applying to college. It said about 80 percent of colleges and universities are now not requiring standardized tests.

Some students still take the tests even if they do not send in their scores. That is because organizations that give out financial aid, known as scholarships, sometimes choose students based on test scores. A public opinion study by the College Board showed that students want the SAT to continue so they can put their scores on their college applications.

Rodriguez said her organization will use the test scores to help students connect with job training schools and community colleges and not just four-year colleges. She said the College Board wants to give students more information about what they can do after high school.

In addition, moving to a computer-based test will make scores available sooner. There have been past stories about paper tests getting lost.

One student from Virginia recently took a practice version of the new test.

Natalia Cossio, a 16-year-old, said the new version was "less stressful" than the paper test. She said the computer test also includes a calculator which students can use for math problems, which is how many of them do higher-level math in school.

The College Board said students who do not own a computer, or schools which do not have enough computers, will be given computers to use on test day.

Words in This Story

apply – v. to formally ask for something such as a job, admission to a school or a loan

relevant – adj. related to a subject in the correct way

take advantage of – phrasal verb - to put something fully⁷ to use for its best purpose; to use something so that it helps you

practice – adj. something that is a used for preparation but not official or final

stress – n. a feeling of worry or concern

calculator – n. a device that can add, subtract and do mathematical operations

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。