BUFFALO, N.Y. — High school students are preparing for standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT right now. With all the pressures and anxiety surrounding testing, as well as the new digital SAT this year, there are a lot of questions for test takers and parents.
As of March 9th, students now need a laptop to take the new digital SAT. The test is a lot shorter, so it went from about 3 hours to about 2 hours without breaks.
There is a calculator provided to students in the application, but students are also allowed and encouraged to bring their own calculator. Unlike the paper SAT, questions are more tailored.
"The first molecule in a section, you do and if you do well, they give you more advanced questions. And if you don't do as well, I think they change the level of complexity on the questions," Amy Runfola, a college counselor at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute said.
All 9th, 10th, and 11th graders at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute have taken the digital PSAT, many will take the new digital SAT format in May.
"The only concern I have is possibly losing out on progress that I have to restart it. It happened to me on my PSAT, unfortunately. So, I had to retake it. But, I think it's an accident that would only happen once. So, let's hope that as more and more people take it that number goes down to zero," Evan Richey, a junior at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute said.
If students don't like the digital SAT, they still have the option to take the ACT which is still paper and pencil. It takes 13 days to get your scores whereas before it could take up to a month. This gives students a quicker time to prepare for the next exam.
If you have a high schooler, you might be wondering if it's worth it for them to take the SAT or ACT. Some colleges consider the test scores for admissions. Others don't.
About 90% of colleges are now SAT and ACT tests-optional. There are a few colleges requiring it again, but many high school students are encouraged to take the test at least once.
A "good score" is relative and it's not the same for everyone. It could make a difference in the college application. If you don't love your score, then you do not have to send it. Colleges like Canisius University now give you that option.
During COVID the university went test optional because the SAT and ACT were not being administered, and that allowed the university some time to reevaluate their data.
"We learned that there is no correlation between test scores and success at Canisius so as a result we decided to go test-free and add the supplemental piece to allow us to evaluate students holistically and fully and meet students where they are were and really evacuate what they are passionate about and interested in and get the full picture of the student. And realize that students are more than just a test score," Danielle Ianni, VP for enrollment at Canisius University said.
High school counselors like to tell their students to think about their college application like a pie. One slice is your GPA, another slice is your courses, test scores, letters of recommendation, and essays. So if you pull your test score out, your other pieces just get bigger and you are just cutting your pie differently.
Related Video: