Fewer Multiple Choice Options
Source: Twitter @GreenburghLib
Historically, the multiple choice sections of the SAT offered five possible options for students to choose from, but starting in 2016, there will only be four answer choices. Along with the no penalty for guessing, this certainly increases the odds that a student gets more questions correct. This new structure is also more similar to the ACT.
Less Obscure Vocabulary Words
Source: Twitter @HerdNicholas
In an overall measure to make the test more closely aligned with what students are learning the classroom and what they will experience in college, vocabulary sections of the SAT will now exist within reading passages and will consist of more common words instead of the typical obscure “SAT words.”
Restricted Calculator Use
Source: Twitter @CollegeBoard
Formerly, students could use calculators on any math section of the exam, but on the new test, only one math section will permit the use of a calculator. While this may promote American education’s focus on improving students’ math skills, it certainly doesn’t seem more realistic to me, since most people have a access to a calculator app at all times in the real world.