Those of you who are familiar with both the SAT and GRE exams (Scholastic Achievement Test and General Records Examination, respectively) may, like me, have detected a certain similarity between them. Awhile back they had even more similarities.
The GRE and SAT both had Quantitative Comparison questions and Problem Solving questions. Today the SAT has only Problem Solving and Student-Generated Response questions, but even in this respect the GRE has adapted the exam - partially thanks to the computer-based format - to include student generated responses. In other words, on both exams there are questions in which the students must fill in a number that they have calculated.
In their respective verbal sections, the two exams have always had a lot in common. They both have Reading Comprehension, and they both have a focus on vocabulary. This focus has changed and mutated on each test over the years, but it has always been there. Now it looks like things are set to change again, further widening the gap between the respective education focuses of each generation.
The new SAT (coming in the near future - see previous post) will downplay advanced vocabulary, replacing it with something that is yet to be clearly defined but is, apparently, more practical and useful for the sorts of communication students will have in the future.
I will post more on the vocabulary issue in my own future. For the moment, it seems as though any knowledge of vocabulary - referred to alternatively as "advanced," "university," "collegiate," or "erudite" - will be unnecessary for the universities of the future. I hope it will still be useful in graduate programs, many of which have the GRE as an entrance test, along with their other application requirements.
I can understand that students dislike having to study, learn, or know vocabulary that they feel is useless or that they will never use. For those students, I can say that they are fortunate if they plan to do the SAT after 2016.
For those students who still have to take the GRE in the future, start studying vocabulary. I don't think that part of the exam will be changing any time soon.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
A new SAT is on the horizon...
A couple of weeks ago I started receiving emails from Khan Academy regarding its partnership with College Board to produce free online test prep materials for the new format of the SAT, due to arrive in 2016. If you don't know the Khan Academy web page, check it out. I am curious to see what their relationship with College Board will produce.
I am also very curious to see the new SAT format.
I have sifted through the description on the College Board webpage, and some things sound genuinely new, whereas others sound a lot like things that exist on the exam already.
- Three sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, Math, and a 50-minute (!!!) Essay
- A return to the 400 - 1600 point scale (two sections that score 200 - 800 rather than the three sections that exist now). It's not the first time the SAT has scored this way, as anyone over 30 will remember (and anyone over 50 may have forgotten by now).
This is all at the beginning of the official website's official description. Granted, the description is very much promotional and rather light on the information side, but I think it's fair to guess at a few things, so I'm going to give it a shot and we'll see how close I am in a month or two when the first sample questions are published.
The Eight Key Changes
1) Relevant Words in Context - Described as the meanings of words in context, which basically sounds like "The word 'capture' in Line 23 means..." though I could be mistaken. However, if you read between the lines they are saying that the Sentence Completion questions (Vocabulary in Context) will either be eliminated or simplified, reducing the difficult vocabulary drastically. (I love language and think everyone should learn vocabulary, but I understand why people don't like it on the SAT.)
2) Command of Evidence - Apparently some of the texts will have an accompanying graphic to be interpreted, and the student will have to edit the passage to reflect the information correctly. My guess is that this could be changing a figure mentioned in the text (date, percent, statistic) or relative terms like "greater than" or "decrease." Also, questions can require the student to identify the sentence in the text in which they found the information. Looks interesting.
3) Essay Analyzing a Source - This looks like a whole new essay structure. The description makes it sound like an analysis/summary/critique of a text, like a university level editorial assignment. The essay will be optional though some universities may require it.
4) Math Focused on Three Key Areas - The first "key area," Problem Solving and Data Analysis, sounds like things that've been on the test before. The other two areas are a bit cryptic: "The Heart of Algebra" and "Passport to Advanced Math." THOA is described as relating to the mastery of linear equations and systems, while PTAM is related to manipulating more complex equations. It sounds very much like hard algebra questions or like questions on the Subject Tests.
5) Real-World Contexts - Sounds like a lot of rhetoric regarding the Reading Comprehension passages we already know and love. Maybe we'll be surprised, but the description isn't giving anything away.
6) Science and Social Studies Analysis - With the exception of another reference to graphics and data, it still sounds like the same old Reading Comprehension and Math questions. Let's see what they come up with.
7) Founding Documents - This one sounds interesting. The description mentions the Declaration of Independence, the Consitution, and the Bill of Rights. The description sounds like a lot of flag waving, but I'm glad they are at least trying to incorporate these things and give young people an excuse to be familiar with these documents. A lot of people my age don't seem to grasp what the Bill of Rights says or even what it means. Maybe the SAT could ask some questions regarding the Federalist Papers. I don't know. I hope this is good stuff.
8) No Penalty for Wrong Answers - This IS news. Now you can answer everything regardless of whether you're guessing, without the risk of losing points a little at a time.
I will try to keep this space updated with new information as it is published.
I am also very curious to see the new SAT format.
I have sifted through the description on the College Board webpage, and some things sound genuinely new, whereas others sound a lot like things that exist on the exam already.
- Three sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, Math, and a 50-minute (!!!) Essay
- A return to the 400 - 1600 point scale (two sections that score 200 - 800 rather than the three sections that exist now). It's not the first time the SAT has scored this way, as anyone over 30 will remember (and anyone over 50 may have forgotten by now).
This is all at the beginning of the official website's official description. Granted, the description is very much promotional and rather light on the information side, but I think it's fair to guess at a few things, so I'm going to give it a shot and we'll see how close I am in a month or two when the first sample questions are published.
The Eight Key Changes
1) Relevant Words in Context - Described as the meanings of words in context, which basically sounds like "The word 'capture' in Line 23 means..." though I could be mistaken. However, if you read between the lines they are saying that the Sentence Completion questions (Vocabulary in Context) will either be eliminated or simplified, reducing the difficult vocabulary drastically. (I love language and think everyone should learn vocabulary, but I understand why people don't like it on the SAT.)
2) Command of Evidence - Apparently some of the texts will have an accompanying graphic to be interpreted, and the student will have to edit the passage to reflect the information correctly. My guess is that this could be changing a figure mentioned in the text (date, percent, statistic) or relative terms like "greater than" or "decrease." Also, questions can require the student to identify the sentence in the text in which they found the information. Looks interesting.
3) Essay Analyzing a Source - This looks like a whole new essay structure. The description makes it sound like an analysis/summary/critique of a text, like a university level editorial assignment. The essay will be optional though some universities may require it.
4) Math Focused on Three Key Areas - The first "key area," Problem Solving and Data Analysis, sounds like things that've been on the test before. The other two areas are a bit cryptic: "The Heart of Algebra" and "Passport to Advanced Math." THOA is described as relating to the mastery of linear equations and systems, while PTAM is related to manipulating more complex equations. It sounds very much like hard algebra questions or like questions on the Subject Tests.
5) Real-World Contexts - Sounds like a lot of rhetoric regarding the Reading Comprehension passages we already know and love. Maybe we'll be surprised, but the description isn't giving anything away.
6) Science and Social Studies Analysis - With the exception of another reference to graphics and data, it still sounds like the same old Reading Comprehension and Math questions. Let's see what they come up with.
7) Founding Documents - This one sounds interesting. The description mentions the Declaration of Independence, the Consitution, and the Bill of Rights. The description sounds like a lot of flag waving, but I'm glad they are at least trying to incorporate these things and give young people an excuse to be familiar with these documents. A lot of people my age don't seem to grasp what the Bill of Rights says or even what it means. Maybe the SAT could ask some questions regarding the Federalist Papers. I don't know. I hope this is good stuff.
8) No Penalty for Wrong Answers - This IS news. Now you can answer everything regardless of whether you're guessing, without the risk of losing points a little at a time.
I will try to keep this space updated with new information as it is published.
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