The College Board’s SAT is a somewhat different animal in 2024
If your child is taking the SAT this year, it’s important to note that it has changed in a number of ways that most students welcome: It is digital–now called the dSAT– and can be taken on a laptop or tablet; it has a shorter run time of about 2 1/4 hours; for the Reading and Writing section, there is no longer an essay to write, and the longer reading passages have been removed. The Math questions are also more straightforward than in previous years, and a calculator (in the app) can be used. For both the Math and the Reading/Writing parts of the SAT, the questions are a bit varied for each student, which makes the exam more secure. And the test questions themselves are graduated according to how well the test taker is doing: if the student is doing well with the early questions, they will then receive more challenging ones. If the early questions are more difficult for the student to answer, on the other hand, their next prompts will be less so.
One other welcome change with the digital SAT is that the test scores will be available sooner than in the past; now, it takes only a few days to get a student’s results.
And while this animal seems quite different, the dSAT still tests the same skills and keeps its scoring of between 400 and 1600 points; 800 possible points for both the Reading/Writing and the Math sections. Accommodations for qualified students continue to be available and must be requested 30 days in advance of the exam.
How should a student prepare for the test?
The College Board’s recommendation that students practice 15-30 minutes a day (5 days a week) for 6 or 8 weeks generally makes sense. But if they are comfortable focusing for longer chunks of time, they would likely do just as well spending 2 hours one day a week immersing themselves in study. And for some students, the ideal schedule might be something in between–working an hour twice a week, for example.
The first step in preparing to take the dSAT is to download the Bluebook application from the College Board: https://bluebook.collegeboard.org/students/download-bluebook Once the app has been installed, the student can take a practice SAT test for free. There are 4 accessible free practice tests on the College Board website.
The test results will help clarify areas of strength from those that need more attention and skill building. Khan Academy offers videos and practice which many students and families find helpful. Your child may want to work with a tutor to focus on study skills and content area where they would like more practice. Our tutors individualize dSAT preparation. We also incorporate other test-taking techniques. We assign the student practice exercises outside of our sessions, and then together we review incorrect answers and determine the most effective strategies for correcting them.
One can learn how to approach different types of questions, recognize key words/phrases and rhetorical strategies in relationship to a text. Helping the student develop confidence in his or her abilities is just as important. The summer is a great time for students to hone these skills without the pressure of a school-time schedule. Reach out to us today to discuss your dSAT goals!
Contributed by: Aimee, LS Tutor: an educator with more than 30 years experience, Aimee helps students prepare for the Reading/Writing section of the dSAT in addition to foreign language and English Language Arts tutoring. Aimee currently has availability for summer students.