Opening up the thick booklet to the first reading passage, preparing for the first of four sections of the three-hour-long SAT brings high school students around the country a shared moment of stress. Now, with the rise of technology, the 98-year-old test will switch gears to a fully digital format.
On March 9, College Board debuted its first digital SAT. Though test takers still have to report to a designated testing center, they have the choice of bringing their laptop or tablet, using a school-issued device or a device provided by the College Board. The test, now on the Bluebook app, has been shortened to two hours since proctors no longer have to distribute or collect testing materials, but students will still have to wait for two weeks to receive their scores. Some other notable features of the computer-based test are personalized questions based on a student’s performance, as well as an entirely calculator-based math portion, with graphing calculators accepted.
On March 12, Miami Palmetto Senior High administered its first in-school digital SAT, free to all 11th graders. In 2022, MPSH was one of the first schools to host digital Advanced Placement exams, so the transition to a digital SAT came with more ease.
“We were the only school in Florida to pilot the AP digital [exam] and it was AP World History and it went phenomenal. It was awesome. So then we did hear that they were going to be eventually changing the SAT into full-fledged digital, and I was on board with it,” Testing Coordinator Janice Fair said.“I just think it’s an easier way to number one, get your scores back; you get your scores back right away. There’s no more waiting until we pack up the exams and send them to one site and somebody has to actually take them apart and review them. So this way your answers, your responses and everything is already recorded and you get your score sheets back really quickly.”
Last year, MPSH agreed to convert AP United States History, AP European History and AP Seminar to fully digital exams. The familiarization with the digital exam format allows more knowledge and order for this year’s digital SAT, yet it also means expected concerns for common issues, such as internet access.
“With AP, we were allowed to have the kids use their own devices. So with that, the teacher really has to make sure if the kids are going to use that device for testing, they have to make sure that the Bluebook app is downloaded on their particular personal computer. The laptops that we use here at school are already going to have the Bluebook downloaded on it. The only issue is in terms of the school: Wi-Fi. The bandwidth, that’s the issue,” Fair said. “We have to concentrate or focus all the bandwidth to [the 3000s] building, which means everybody else in other parts of the school are going to have less bandwidth and a lot more issues in terms of Wi-Fi.”
Despite internet concerns, digital AP testing went smoothly in previous years, and the school expected to have a smooth SAT run as well.
Digital testing has created a convenient and more efficient testing experience. Next year, MPSH plans to continue hosting an in-school digital SAT, as well as the addition of new digital AP exams, such as AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition and AP Computer Science Principles.
