SAT - A Marathon? (News)

News & Commentary

12/16/05 - CNN.com "Facing complaints that the (NEW) SAT has grown too long, the College Board will consider allowing students to take the three parts (Subject Areas) of the newly expanded college entrance exam in separate sittings"

Skip to Commentary

Summary:
A number of admissions professionals (200+) from around the US voiced their collective complaint that the SAT was just too long. The NEW SAT takes about 4 hours to complete while the old SAT took 3 hours. The 33% increase in the duration of the SAT affects those who have extended time the hardest. For instance, if a test taker has 100% extended time, she must budget about 7 and half hours for the test (students with extended time do not take the Equating section which is 25 minutes).

Consequently, the College Board is examining whether the SAT could be broken up into 3 separate and distinct Subject Area tests (Critical Reading, Math, and Writing Skills). One potential advantage of this arrangement would be realized by those who need to to increase their score only on one Subject Area. These test takers would not have to retake the entire test (as is needed now); they would have to only retake the relevant Subject Area test(s).

Enacting these changes may further perpetuate testing inequities, especially those due to disparate socioeconomic status. For instance some test takers possess the resources needed to retake the exam, perhaps multiple times, while others do not. The students who do possess these resources now will find that retaking the SAT to be more fruitful than before since they can focus in on the Subject Area that needs amelioration.

Forward to Commentary on this article

Back to News & Commentary Main Page