5 Tips for Taking the All-New Digital SAT Examination
The College Board administered the final pen-and-paper SAT in the United States in December 2023. Future administrations of the SAT will only be available digitally. Students and families must plan and prepare differently for this big online shift in the standardised testing landscape than they would have for the paper exam. Using the appropriate approach is especially important because several universities are abandoning their test-optional policies and reevaluating the test's significance in the admissions process.
On the Digital SAT, what remains unchanged?
First and foremost, it's crucial to remember that even though the test is now available digitally, some components stay the same. The digital version covers the same material as the written test and is evaluated on a 400–1,600 point range. Furthermore, the exam is still given by proctors at accredited testing locations and provides the same assistance to students who need accommodations.
Read our article on the most effective sat prep to get a foundational understanding of digital sat online.
What Makes The Digital SAT Different?
1. The Digital SAT is administered exclusively through a computer.
The primary distinction between the digital exam and the paper exam is, of course, that the latter is totally completed on a Chromebook maintained by the school, an iPad, a Mac laptop, or a Windows laptop. To get a feel for the digital testing process, students should simulate taking the test online using the College Board's Bluebook app.
2. The reading and writing sections are combined into a shortened version of the Digital SAT.
There are 98 questions in the two hours and fourteen minute digital version of the SAT. Its traditional paper-and-pencil version, on the other hand, took longer than three hours and required pupils to respond to a longer set of 154 questions. The Digital SAT offers a more straightforward format than the paper exam, which had four sections: reading, writing, arithmetic without a calculator, and math with a calculator. It is divided into two sections: a stand-alone maths section and a combined reading and writing section.
3. Calculators are permitted to be used during the whole math portion of the Digital SAT.
The digital SAT permits students to use calculators throughout the new single math portion, in contrast to the previous exam that had two math sections—one where students could use a calculator to solve problems and another where they couldn't. If students would rather not bring their own graphing calculator, they can utilise Desmos, which is included in the exam.
4. There are shorter reading comprehension portions on the Digital SAT.
In addition to combining the reading and writing portions, the Digital SAT necessitates that students read fewer passages than the paper version before responding to reading comprehension questions. The new materials are usually one or two paragraphs long. While the test includes a number of new question formats, students who have taken the paper test will recognize numerous question types, such as questions regarding the primary idea, author's purpose, grammar and punctuation, and vocabulary.
The topics covered in the sections have expanded, and poetic aspects have been incorporated. In addition, there are new questions that ask students to summarise findings from a made-up set of student notes.
5. Multistage adaptive testing is used in the Digital SAT.
This means that as students respond to questions, the test's complexity will change dynamically to match their level of skill. The arithmetic and reading and writing test components are separated into two separate modules. The second module's question difficulty is dependent on how well the student performed in the first module. Consequently, the digital exam provides a more customized testing experience.
Aside from these variations, a few unique features of the Digital SAT might facilitate test-taking for students. For example, the digital exam enables students to mark questions for later review, enabling a more deliberate approach to testing. Additionally, students can opt to reveal or hide the countdown clock at the top of their testing screen, which will inform them when time is running out. Although taking tests might cause anxiety in kids, preparing and using a strategy will help them feel more confident and attain their desired marks. Achieving success on one of the approaching test dates requires understanding the intricacies of the test and getting a feel for the format through practice exams.
Advice for Taking the SAT Digitally
One of the most crucial things you can do to get ready for the test is to familiarise yourself with the new digital SAT format. Here are some additional pointers for using the online SAT.
● Utilise Practice Exams to Get Ready
If you intend to retake the digital SAT in order to get better scores, bear in mind that you will not be able to see how many questions you answered correctly or incorrectly in each section or how your score was determined as a result. This is due to the fact that every student receives a customised test that adjusts to their specific ability and has various weighted questions; your score isn't determined solely by adding up the correct and incorrect answers.
Additionally, no student will have access to the questions on their particular tests after leaving the exam due to the College Board's intention to reuse questions from test to test in an effort to discourage cheating.
● Concentrate on Working Precisely but Quickly
Your objective on exam day should be to simply answer as many questions accurately as you can in the allocated time, as each question has a different weight.
To maximise efficiency, commit the instructions for every kind of prompt to memory in advance so that you can start working on the exam questions right away. However, thoroughly study each reading passage and maths question to ensure that you understand the question and what to consider before responding.
● Utilize the Integrated Tools
Use the provided paper or the online notepad to perform calculations and draw out notes or diagrams, unless you're an expert mathematician. If you can confidently solve problems without the calculator, don't waste time by utilizing it; instead, use the Desmos Calculator to solve more complex problems. Additionally, if you only need a fast refresher on popular math formulae, don't forget to select the Reference icon.
Remember that you can mark challenging issues for review and return to them after working through simpler ones in the Maths and Reading and Writing sections.
● Apply the Elimination Process
Use the Strikethrough tool to cross out the answers you know are incorrect on multiple-choice questions because it can often be simpler to spot incorrect answers than accurate ones. Through a process of elimination, you may get to the right decision. Furthermore, limiting your options to two and then hazard guessing increases your chances of gaining points compared to selecting at random from all four options because you only lose points for wrong responses.
● Verify Your Work Again
If you complete a module earlier than expected, make sure you've chosen or put in the precise answers you meant to, and go back and review any questions you weren't very sure about. Additionally, be careful when entering your response to any grid-in or student-produced response questions as there is a higher chance of inaccuracy than with multiple-choice prompts.
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