The Preliminary SAT (PSAT) is changing, but how drastically? On Oct. 11, pioneering sophomores took the first online PSAT. The test went fully remote to prepare students for the new SAT format, which will switch to a digital assessment in January.
According to students, the changes were relatively minor. Besides the difference in medium, the updated exam featured the removal of the non-calculator section and the addition of online tools such as the “question bookmark.”
“The questions aren’t changing materially,” math teacher and SAT prep tutor Justine Lane said. “The SAT still asks questions in a way that is so different from your textbook.”
In previous years, students would have to be separated into rooms, making it difficult for teachers to set up the test. This year, students took the test in one room, problems were limited and it was easier to oversee. Although the paper test is more familiar, many students preferred the online version of the test, including sophomore Kelly Matthews of Middletown.
“I thought it was nice that it was online,” Matthews said. “Usually when it’s scantron there’s a larger chance I’ll mess it up.”
Students also appreciated the new online tools, including sophomore Anna Claps from Colts Neck.
“I think that [being online] makes it easier,” Claps said. “Being able to bookmark questions is definitely helpful.”
SAT prep teachers are tweaking the way they prepare students for these tests because of the minor changes.
“I definitely am focusing a little bit more on calculator skills both in school and when I tutor,” Lane said.
Students may have mixed opinions on the digital format, but according to U.S. History I teacher Bill Clark, the online test better prepares them for their future education than the paper SAT.
“Everything is going online, might as well get ready for it,” Clark said.
