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Upcoming Test Changes

Beau Borrero Instructor / Tutor. Upcoming Test Changes. College Board president David Coleman, a former architect of the Common Core standards, plans to make the SAT test what students are learning in their classrooms.

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Upcoming Test Changes

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  1. Beau Borrero Instructor / Tutor Upcoming Test Changes

  2. College Board president David Coleman, a former architect of the Common Core standards, plans to make the SAT test what students are learning in their classrooms. • According to Coleman, the test should emphasize “things that matter more so that the endless hours students put into practicing for the SAT will be work that’s worth doing.” • “The heart of the revised SAT will be analyzing evidence. The College Board is reaching out to teachers and college faculty to help us design questions that, for example, could ask students to use math to analyze the data in an economics study or the results of a scientific experiment, or analyze the evidence provided within texts in literature, history, geography or natural science.” Why Change the SAT?

  3. PSAT = October 2015 • Release of new SAT in 2016 • Impacts current freshman – Class of 2017 When Will the SAT Change?

  4. Relevant Words in Context – similar to current critical reading • Command of Evidence – interpret, synthesize, and use evidence • Essay Analyzing a source – how does the author build an argument? • Math Focused on 3 Key Areas – more on this later • Problems Grounded in Real-World Contexts – related to college and career • Analysis in Science and Social Studies – modern issues • Founding Documents and the Great Global Conversation • No Penalty for Wrong Answers – just like the ACT The New SAT: Eight Key Changes

  5. Print and digital versions available • 3 hours long with OPTIONAL essay • Return to 1600 point scale • Combined reading, writing, and math score • Essay scored separately • Remove penalty for wrong answers • Calculator permitted on SOME sections • 3 sections: • Evidence Based Reading and Writing • Math • Essay SAT: Technical Changes

  6. Showcase a student’s command of analyzing evidence in reading passages. • Analyze a wider range of source text from literature, science, social studies, history, and the arts. • Synthesize info from graphs, tables, charts, etc. • No more sentence completions. Rather paragraph analysis so students will edit in a more rich real-world context. • Incorporate America’s Founding documents into verbal sections. • Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, etc. Evidence-based Reading and Writing

  7. Vocabulary will be less esoteric and more relevant to daily life. “Words like transform, deliberate, hypothesis,” – Coleman • Everyday “powerful” words which require an understanding of how the word works and how it is used. • Synthetic: artificial; imitating a natural product • Synthesis: creation of something by artificial mean Vocabulary

  8. Current Essay: 25 minutes • no source information given; students can fabricate examples • has not historically proved predictive of college success • Essay is no longer required and scored separately. • New Essay: 50 minutes. • Common prompt applied to different sources • “As you read the passage, consider how the author uses: • Evidence such as facts or examples • Reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence • Stylistic or persuasive elements to add power to the ideas expressed • Write an essay in which you explain how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience” The Essay

  9. SAT Math will focus on 3 key areas: • Problem Solving and Data Analysis • The Heart of Darkness…um…I mean Algebra • Passport to Advanced Math • Calculators allowed on some sections , not all • Coleman: “And it shouldn’t just be about picking the right answer. It should be about being able to explain, and see, the applications of this math.” • More word problems? Charts and diagrams? Math

  10. “SAT scores should only be used in combination with other relevant information to make responsible decisions about students.” • Just like Cigarettes and Alcohol - “Habitual and repeated use of the SAT may adversely affect the health of your incoming freshman class” Safe Use Warning

  11. Next release from College Board • Complete blueprint of the new SAT • Sample exam and questions Stay tuned… April 16, 2014

  12. More content based • Tied to Common Core • Closely aligns the SAT to the ACT Cumulative Effect

  13. The ACT will introduce a computer-based version of the test in 2015 • Paper test will still be available for the time being, but goal is to eventually be 100% digital. • No intimation that the digital ACT will be adaptive like, for example, the ACT Compass test (a computer-adaptive college placement test). Changes to the ACT

  14. “Those who take the test on a computer will see a new breed of questions — free-response questions in which students manipulate on-screen images to form their conclusions. In one sample question, students move a plunger on a cylindrical gas tank to change gas pressure and temperature. They then write a few sentences describing the relationship between distance and pressure and between temperature and pressure, and graph those relationships.” (Lewin 2) • In another question, students “pour” four different liquids into beakers to see which one rises to the top and which one sinks to the bottom. Based on their experimentation, they predict what would happen if all four liquids were combined.” (Lewin 2) Changes to the ACT

  15. Will the whole school or individual students choose which version of the test to take? • How will the results of the digital and paper versions be compared? • What about schools that don’t have the capacity to accommodate all students in a computer lab or other secure setting? Lingering Questions about Digital Testing

  16. Greater polarization: Race for market share has both ACT and College Board looking to secure contracts with states and districts; in these states and districts, the organization that has a contract enjoys a drastic lead in number of tests taken • The tests are becoming more alike, with the SAT moving further from its original aptitude-based approach and more towards an ACT-style high school achievement-centered (now called Common-Core) approach. Implications

  17. Lower socioeconomic status students benefit from the SAT and ACT’s pursuit of their part of the market • Interestingly, taxpayers, via school contracts with SAT/ACT, shoulder much of the burden. • Colleges benefit—if more lower SES students take the tests, more higher-scoring low SES students will be available for them to recruit. Implications

  18. Test Prep Implications

  19. Some colleges, e.g. Bowdoin, have made ACT/SAT scores optional because of their weak-moderate value in predicting college success • Are the changes to the SAT (and to a lesser extent, the ACT) increasing their accuracy and relevance as predictors of college success? Or are the changes more about competition for market share? Conclusion

  20. Jennifer Morris National Director, Strategic Partnerships 310-579-7567 jennifer@veritasprep.com • Before you leave: Complete sign-in sheet for FREE on-demand prep for all students at your school. Contact Info

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