In a nutshell: College Board, the organization responsible for the SAT standardized test commonly used for college admission decisions, has announced plans to take the assessment digital. The digital SAT will be shorter than the traditional test - about two hours instead of three - and will provide more time to answer each question. Reading passages will also be shorter, and calculators will be allowed on the entire math section.
College Board conducted a pilot program in November 2021 in the US and overseas. Four out of five students found the process to be less stressful than the standard written test, while 100 percent of educators reported a positive experience.
Tests will be administered in schools or test centers with a proctor present, not remotely. Students will be able to use their own device or a school issued unit. The test will still be scores on a 1600 scale, and scores will be returned in days rather than weeks, we're told.
Educators will no longer have to deal with packing, sorting and shipping test material. And because it'll be shorter and easier to administer, districts will have more options for when, where and how often they can offer the test.
"The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant," said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at College Board. "We're not simply putting the current SAT on a digital platform---we're taking full advantage of what delivering an assessment digitally makes possible."
College Board will start administering the digital SAT internationally in 2023 before rolling it out in the US in 2024.
Image credit: Kaitlyn Baker