The changes to the English portion of the SAT
There are a lot of people wondering about the new SAT. There are many changes, additions, and deletions coming in 2016. The first step to maximizing your score on the SAT (or any other test) is to understand how the test is structured. There are changes that affect both the English and the Math portions, as well as section specific changes. Let’s take a closer look at the differences that will be important to how you take the SAT starting in 2016.
One of the biggest changes to how students take the test will be that guessing is no longer discouraged. In the new SAT there won’t be a penalty for wrong answers. Right now if a student doesn’t know the correct answer, or can’t rule out several options, it is often beneficial to just leave the question blank. Going forward there will be no harm, and possibly some benefit, to guessing. Guessing will be even more likely to help out a student’s score because the new test will only have four answer choices instead of five. This means a better chance of guessing correctly. The combined score for the new test will be 400-1600 points, with the essay being a separate score that is sent to colleges. While the English section of the test will drop from 116 questions to 96, the total time most students will spend will probably be the same.
The essay is the next biggest change. The essay is now optional. That’s not to say you don’t have to take it though. It’s reasonable to assume most colleges will still require the essay scores. The format of the essay has changed dramatically. Instead of a universal prompt that asks students to discuss a broad concept, it will be a passage-based prompt. Students will be scored based on their analysis and comprehension, as well as grammar and style. Instead of the essay being at the beginning of the test it is now administered at the end. There is also twice as much time given for the essay as before because it now requires reading and analyzing a passage instead of just answering a prompt. This type of essay may be easier for some students since it more closely mirrors the literary analysis papers students write for English classes.
There have also been some changes to the reading and grammar sections to make them more in line with the concepts being taught and learned in the English classroom. The changes to the grammar section of the test aren’t substance so much as presentation. Students are still being tested on the same basic grammar and style rules. The sentences students are asked to edit will be part of larger passages instead of stand-alone sentences without context. Both the grammar and the reading sections now include graphics that will test a student’s ability to incorporate visual information into a passage. The reading section will now have questions that require students to point to the textual evidence that supports their answers to comprehension questions. Vocabulary questions will also be altered to include more tone and mood questions, as well as contextual understanding, instead of archaic “SAT words”. These will replace the sentence completion questions.
The way students prepare for the SAT will, of course, change once the SAT has changed. One of the changes in scoring that will really help students improve their performance is the inclusion of sub scores. These scores will indicate how students have done on certain skills and will allow them to focus their studies in order to do better on the next test. Essay writing for this type of prompt is slightly different, the techniques one uses to maximize correct answers and minimize wasted time will shift with the removal of penalties for incorrect answers, and the kinds of vocabulary study techniques students employ will also vary. These are only some of the ways SAT prep will change. As always the first thing any student can do to improve his or her English SAT score is to read prolifically. This will help to give the student the knowledge base needed to build on with test-specific techniques and strategies.
