In 2022, the College Board announced a dramatic shift in the world of education to restructure traditional standardized testing; transforming the SAT into a completely digitized test for all students by spring of 2024.
According to the College Board Digital SAT Suite, “the pandemic has accelerated our transition to offering a digital SAT Suite of Assessments. Students are now doing more of their learning and testing digitally, and the SAT shouldn’t be the exception. We’re listening to input and adapting to ensure we continue to meet the needs of students and educators.”
The SAT first debuted in 1926 and has stayed relatively unchanged for nearly a century. Originally administered with a paper test packet and the iconic No. 2 pencil, the new test will now be strictly on a laptop or tablet. The test itself is administered through an app, “bluebook”, which will be manually downloaded by district technological facilities onto students’ devices. However, while transitioning to a fully digitalized test, technological issues are likely to emerge.
Luckily, Schaumburg’s student services director, Yassi Delagado is prepared, “Plan B, we’ll have extra iPads. Plan C, we have a makeup test. It takes all of us as a team to be prepared for the test”.
A digital SAT may prove to be a better way of testing. Junior student, Melanie Hopkins, gives insight into her positive PSAT experience this week, “seeing your own time and having the ability to continue on to different sections makes the new SAT more self-paced instead of running out of time,” she also adds, “I do prefer the digital test compared to paper PSAT I’ve taken.”
The College board’s initiative pushes to transform not only the SAT but Advanced Placement (AP) testing as well. Starting spring 2024, schools will have the option to digitalize the select AP exams they offer. These subjects include AP Seminar, AP U.S. History, AP European History, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, AP World History, and for pilot schools of the new course, AP African American Studies.
Schaumburg High School is taking the lead on this initiative by choosing to test digitally for all of their AP courses listed. The administrators at Schaumburg are working diligently towards planning for a successful testing season for both AP and SAT this spring.
Erika Werlein, Schaumburg counselor, says, “I think this will be great but I think people are nervous because this is something that hasn’t been done yet”.
With the shift in traditional standardized testing, new challenges and opportunities arise for all students and staff across the nation, despite early glitches, the system proved robust enough to. The leap towards digital testing reflects the constant push for innovation in our society today.