The SAT has made some significant changes over the last few years. And so in this video, I just want to talk very clearly and simply about what those changes have been and what it means for you.

The SAT's biggest change is they shifted from the 2,400 score range down to the 1,600 score range. Now that doesn't mean a whole lot. Students are still going to perform similarly and there's even conversion charts online that you can find that just show you what the old score to the new score means, but it is important to know that it's now scored out of a scale of 1,600.

Another change is that there is no penalty for guessing anymore. Incorrect answers count the same as skipped questions. It's really important on the SAT test now to answer every question and guess on every question, even if you don't know the answer, is really important. Another change, the essay's optional. And the final change on the SAT national test is that it's been shortened. It used to be close to a four hour test. Now it's down to about a three hour test, and most of the questions have been bent, just like Common Core, toward real life application. Now at the end of the day, it's not going to change a whole lot, but that has been a filter that the SAT question writers have used in recent years for real life application.

Those are the major changes of the SAT. The biggest change holistically is the no penalty for guessing anymore, so it's really important when you're taking the SAT to answer every question. And if you're an administrator or a school staff who's trying to determine is the SAT or the ACT a better test for my district and my students, at TorchPrep, we're still pretty confident, and as we see day in/day out students, the ACT still tends to be a more approachable test for most high school students.

Resources:

Old/New SAT Conversion Chart - https://blog.ivywise.com/blog-0/sat-score-conversion-chart

Make sure to check out the rest of our post to find even more ways to beat the ACT and reach your goals in the pursuit of college.