What does the SAT change mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Optional essay means just that. The kids can choose to write the essay. It is not factored into the overall score but is scored on its own. Schools can choose to look at it or not.

this is true and why it is recommended that ADHD kids and others with writing difficulties focus on the ACT, which is what we did. DD slammed it with a composite of 34, bombed the writing section but I don't think the universities even saw the writing grade. Got in first choice early action.

Not to derail the thread, but would you elaborate on this statement about those with ADHD/writing issues should focus on the ACT? I had not heard about this before. (My oldest is only in 8th grade, though.)

[Anonymous]

With the larger scale and old test format it was easier for rich people to be coached to get higher scores, and the test results were likely very correlated to income. By dumbing down the test, it is probably less easy to coach someone on obscure word vocabulary and such, making it easier for others who are not coached to get a decent score. Yes, the rich smart kids will still do well - I assume most colleges were not getting all that much insight from kids at elite schools turing up with high SAT scores anyway. It was still always a crapshoot as to what school they got in, and SAT scores probably weren't the deciding factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With the larger scale and old test format it was easier for rich people to be coached to get higher scores, and the test results were likely very correlated to income. By dumbing down the test, it is probably less easy to coach someone on obscure word vocabulary and such, making it easier for others who are not coached to get a decent score. Yes, the rich smart kids will still do well - I assume most colleges were not getting all that much insight from kids at elite schools turing up with high SAT scores anyway. It was still always a crapshoot as to what school they got in, and SAT scores probably weren't the deciding factor.

The obscure vocabulary is not typically covered in the prep courses. The real value of the prep courses is teaching the tricks and learning how to game the test. Students need to know when and how to guess to maximize scores. There are so many math shortcuts that can be taught. That won't change.