The new SAT & other college admission thoughts…
I will start by mentioning that I have no “inside” knowledge of this topic! Over the last few months I’ve read about the task through various sites such as collegeboard.com and spoken about the test with other tutors. I have a few initial thoughts, and a few questions to consider as well.
Whenever there is a change to a test or a curriculum (think common core, next generation, state tests/regents etc.) my first thought is always “don’t panic!” Change is change. We’ve dealt with it before, and we can deal with it now. When something new is implemented everybody is in the same boat, right? Your child, and your friend’s child have both not been exposed to this new version of the SAT. All US students who will be taking the new version of the SAT in March of 2024. I’m not sure if I’m being too optimistic, but I’m hoping that the test will show an accurate representation of who the student is. I hope that we will still be able to get data to show trends and what an average score would be. I’m hoping we can compare to previous years and see how kids do. There is, of course, always the chance that data is skewed as well. For example, maybe our pool of students will be less if students decide to opt out of this version (either by sticking with the ACTs or getting the test done in the fall/winter). Regardless, we’ll be able to gather data, and assess if this test works for our kids.
Here are some details about the test in case you haven’t read about it yet.
-The test will be 100% digital. Our kids having been working in the digital world for a while now. I think they’ll adapt okay to this change. Many schools have been stepping away from traditional text books and using programs like google classroom. They have needed to read and respond to a variety of questions/assignments/activities online already.
-The test will be a little longer than 2 hours (as opposed to 3). This is good! After the 2 hour mark I notice a lot of students lose steam and fade. If we can achieve data/results in less time, why not?
-The test is adaptive; it will provide questions and passages based on how the student is doing. The GRE and and GMAT have been adaptive for years now. I believe that this could make for a more pleasant testing experience for all.
If you have a rising sophomore or junior I’d recommend reading more about the new SAT here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/ .
With all of that being said. I understand that many rising juniors will be trying to either take their SAT in the fall (before the changes) or stick with the ACT. If you and your child decide to make this decision I’m totally for it as well! As long as you have a plan. If you know when your child will be doing their prep, and have an opportunity to take practice tests, and then the actual SAT at least 2 times I don’t see an issue with this plan. Like so many things in life proper preparation can be a solid key to success (but also being able to adapt when things don’t go exactly as planned!).
My biggest questions moving forward is definitely how admissions tests will be used for colleges. We’re already seeing a lot of schools having “test optional” in their applications. I’m still grappling with the idea of this making things more or less fair. I haven’t decided yet! On one hand, a test most certainly does not show us exactly who a student is. Unfortunately, many of the other markers might not either. Grading systems are never uniform and we also never know how much help a student receives on their college essay either. At the end of the day I like to remind my students and their parents that where your child goes to college is a huge decision and will make a great impact on their life, they have potential to be successful in a variety of pathways (this is true for high school as well).
If you have any additional thoughts/comments/questions, I’d love to hear them! My inbox (Leah@robbinsreadylearning.com) is open :)
Mastering the Math SHSAT (let’s talk about timing)
If you live in NYC, have a middle school child, and are consider a public high school for your child you might be familiar with the SHSAT. The SHSAT is give to students in the fall (usually) of their 8th grade year, and it is the sole decider in determining if your child one of the specialized high schools (not including LaGuardia). The 8 schools that require this test are:
Stuyvesant High School
Brooklyn Latin School
The Bronx High School of Science
Brooklyn Technical High School
High School of American Studies at Lehman College
Staten Island Technical High School
High School for Math, Science and Engineering and City College
Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
In another post I can talk more about what each of these schools offer, who they might be good for, and specifics to think about if you are considering one of them. For now though, I would like to focus on the math portion of the SHSAT. More particularly, how your child can be most successful, and some important skills to master this section of the test. There are many challenges that come along with this test - and being aware of these challenges from the beginning is the best way to be prepared and truly master this section of the exam! Let’s discuss:
There are 57 math questions (5 of the “grid ins” and 52 multiple choice) - if we split the test evenly with ELA, students get about 90 minutes for this section. When we do the math, this averages to about 90 seconds per question. Depending on where your child goes to school, working efficiently may or may be something that’s discussed. As a teacher I always want my students to explore, learn through inquiry, and make mistakes. Then, on exams, I always felt like they should get a reasonable amount of time to finish (I would often let kids finish up at a later time if they didn’t finish on time). Unfortunately, the SHSAT does not allow for somebody to take their time. Students need to be sharp with the following in order to get the most out of the timing:
Be fluent in all of their rational number (fractions, decimals, integers, wholes) operations. There will be a lot of calculations on this test. For the most part these calculations will be a part of a larger problem. We don’t want to spend too much time on a calculation that could be done in an efficient way. In order to strengthen these skills: practice the standard algorithms (or any method that works for your child) for all operations and types of numbers, know your divisibility rules, know when it’s okay to use estimation
Know when you can use a strategy instead of the method that might be considered more “straightforward.” Methods include: choosing your own numbers or using the answer choices.
Know when to move on from a question vs. work through it. This comes down to preparation. Does your child know their strengths? If they know their strengths they should be able to feel confident in working through a variety of questions. If they know that they are strong in probability (as an example), they will definitely not skip that problem. However, if they know that problems involving circles are more challenging, maybe that’s one they want to save for the end.
While we don’t need to get a perfect score in order to get into a specialized high school, the goal would be to get 100% of the questions your child CAN do. This may seem obvious, but it might shift your thinking a little bit. For example, I don’t always jump to say “since we’re not strong in topic x, we should work on topic x more!” I believe that we want to keep our strong concepts strong so that we can count on them for test day!
I’m not going to lie. I go back and forth with the timing aspect! Sometimes I feel confident that the test is fair, but other times I feel like we are not giving opportunities to students who work a little slower (and do not have an accommodation that could grant some extra time).
I’d love to know your thoughts! What do you think about timing of standardized tests (or the SHSAT if you are familiar!)