For many students, SATs are just around the corner. However, many don’t know that in March 2024, US students will have the option to take the SAT digitally. Although the digital SAT has its benefits, there are many concerns that students have that should be considered.
I posted a questionnaire and a poll on my Instagram story to see whether students prefer physical or digital SATs. It turned out that 60% of students actually prefer completing their SATs physically.
Users who prefer the physical SAT explain how odd it would feel to take the digital SAT. “I don’t like reading stuff on a screen it hurts my eyes,” Blake High School senior Arieli Ayala said. Northwood High School senior Chinaza Amagwula said, “It feels calmer taking it physically.”
“If the digital SAT was optional, sure, but if not it would be hard for students who don’t do as well with tests,” Gaithersburg High School senior Belen Nesibu said. “It could be challenging for some students because of the preparation and materials used from the previous physical tests,” Gaithersburg High School Math teacher Aaron Shakin said.
Sometimes, the educational system fabricates things that are composed without the students’ opinions in mind. Standardized exams like the SAT are only for good looks. They put unnecessary pressure on students and cause them to fear that they are a “flunk” or “failure.”
From one of the testimonials I’ve pulled from the College Board website, an anonymous student part of the timing research study said, “I am always practicing on my device, thus answering these questions felt more comfortable in the sense that I am more familiar with taking SAT questions on a device than on paper. Overall, it was a less stressful experience and I quite enjoyed it.” I don’t like invalidating others’ stories and experiences cause everyone has different methods when curing stress on a test, but would the students I’ve shared and spoken to relate to this testimonial?
On my questionnaire, some responders prefer that the SAT get removed altogether.
Wheaton High School senior Tsion Maru thinks that the process of taking standardized tests is the only way for officials to pick and choose, who’s most successful among their peers.“I think they need to remove SAT altogether,” Maru said. “I think that there are either exams and standardized methods of measuring students. The SAT is just a matter of who studies the most or who is better at test taking—it is not a good measurement by any means.”
“I don’t think the issue will be paper and pencils as a resource but more so the access to a computer and wifi; that may be more difficult to access than a paper and pencil to use for scratch notes,” Tsion said in a further interview. “They will most likely make students who don’t have access to digital testing materials take the test at school. They might try and level the playing field by making everyone take the test on a school Chromebook at a school/testing center, like how they do it now.”
Students also suspect that the College Board is trying to maintain profits through the digital SAT. “I think College Board does not want to let go of the SATs, so they will do what they can to make it as accessible as possible, so as many students as possible can take it. They were probably upset about so many colleges becoming test optional and are trying to make up for that.” Maru said. “I think this is a decent attempt at making the test more accessible, but I don’t think it will make much of an accessibility difference for the average student.”
While the digital SAT could improve accessibility, it could still interrupt students’ well-being and finances. Everything could possibly shift once it releases in March 2024 and students will testify later whether this was a positive or negative experience.
Written by Tatiana Diomi of Gaithersburg High School
Graphic courtesy of College Board