Redesigned SAT incites worry, fatigue

Juniors had a lot to say about the new SAT after taking it April 12.

The redesigned SAT, now returning to a 1600-point scale and including an optional essay, has been refocused to measure “what you learned in high school and what you need to succeed in college,” rather than memorization of ideas inapplicable to real life, according to the College Board.

Even with the change, students found that it didn’t quite represent their knowledge.

“It’s just another standardized test that can’t hit all the fields someone is able to excel at,” junior Blakely Doby said.

To some, certain aspects of the new test were harder.

The long time intervals, such as the 65-minute critical reading section, made it difficult to concentrate.

“Reading essay after essay got really tiring after a while and I started to run low on time,” junior Jared Lim said.

Junior Helena Hahn agrees.

“I’m used to multiple intervals,” Hahn said. “I couldn’t keep track of the time. My proctor wouldn’t let me have a watch on.”

Students also struggled with the math section, finding that it failed to assess the concepts they were learning in class.

“The test reflects more on what we’ve learned in the past, instead of now,” junior Justin Barry said. “The math was all Algebra II and Geometry, which isn’t that relevant to me anymore.”

Many felt confident about the writing section.

The essay, now optional, has been reformatted to more closely resemble the rhetorical analysis essays written in AP English, making students feel better prepared.

“There’s a rhetorical analysis essay on the exam, so to prepare, we spent a month and half learning how to analyze them,” junior Becca Sulpar said.

Still, despite the College Board’s attempts to make the test more relevant to classroom academics, many found that they felt underprepared for the new format.

“It’s hard because they completely changed it, so a lot of teachers and students are going in blind,” junior Brett Sproul said.