A big change has come to high schools across the country. Students today and for the future will now solely take the online SAT.

At the end of 2023, the College Board decided to prevent cheating and spend less time on the test by changing the format to a computer. Although Northside’s Seniors were not affected by the switch, all juniors, sophomores, and freshman will take the digital version.

The new version has many differences from the old one. It’s on a computer and fully digital. The test only takes about 2 to 3 hours. Math has been combined so that all students can use a Desmos calculator. Reading has also formed grammar and reading into 2 sections as well. Many of these changes benefit students, but there is conversation about how the test could be harder.

Students taking the online SAT will also get different questions. Future questions on the test will be based on the answers from previous questions, fully customizing students’ tests. This is to see students’ strengths and weaknesses so their tests may be properly scored. Test scores are also now released faster, between two weeks and a month.

Students have differing views on the new test. Students who took it for the first time online were worried they had not studied properly and were unprepared for the test. Students who had previously taken the test on paper had concerns about whether their progress on the original test would transfer over to skill on the digital test.

The College Board aims to create a fair test that challenges students’ knowledge to gauge their intelligence and skills. Errors may occur in the beginning stages while the test is still being crash-tested. The digital SAT format will help students with their focus and studying skills and hopefully improve their test scores, benefiting students overall.