Published on Jan. 30, 2022 | Updated on Feb. 19, 2022
Here, we’ll update the most up-to-date webpage from College Board for reference, we’ll keep all the information updated should College Board has any new information or changes.
Please refer to College Board has recently announced that starting Spring 2023, there will be major changes being made to the SAT test.
Who will have to prepare for the new test?
Current 9th graders (Class of 2025) will almost certainly have to take the new version of the SAT. They can begin preparing for the new SAT once more material comes out from Collegeboard in the next year
Current 11th graders will not have to take the new version of the test. They can continue their normal SAT preparation with material on the old test
So this new change is certainly trickiest for our current 10th grade (Class of 2023) students.
Current 10th graders (Class of 2026) will have a few possibilities to consider
- Take just the old test at any of the testing dates during 2022.
- Take the old SAT in 2022 and take the new SAT in 2023
- Do not prep for the old SAT and simply prepare for the new SAT when it comes out
One crucial aspect to keep in mind is that there have been no practice questions released at the time of writing and details about the changes are still vague. But, we do know that Collegeboard has said that the content will be very similar. Given what we know so far, here is how we recommend students can target a few of the changes in the new SAT
How to prepare for the new SAT
Among the many changes to the SAT, there are a few in particular that the SAT has
Change 1: Going full Digital
With the new test going full digital, students will need to familiarize themselves with an online system. Here’s a sneak peek we got from College Board on what their online system might look like:
Students will do well to also practice with online resources like Khan Academy and Pano Education’s proprietary digital SAT prep. This will allow students to get used to the screen time as well as maneuver the buttons and navigation. Here’s Pano’s digital SAT prep system:
Change 2: Shorter Test
With an estimated time of just 2 hours, students will have a much easier time completing the test. This is certainly good news for students who have a harder time focusing for long periods of time. Previously students needed to practice completing full length mock tests in order to improve their testing stamina. However, to prepare for the shorter test, we believe that students no longer need to spend as much time doing full length practice tests. Instead, students need to focus on targeting specific weaknesses they have on particular question types (function questions vs fact-based, etc).
This can be done with a thorough analysis of the various types of questions and the approaches to each type of question.
Change 3: Shorter reading passages
With shorter reading passages, the digital SAT will be easier for students to navigate as well. For the reading section for the old SAT, it was critical to practice both time management for reading the passage as well as finding small pieces of evidence in long passages. These two aspects of prep are no longer as valued for shorter passages. Now, students will be able to more easily find the correct evidence and get through reading passages easier. Instead, they can focus on identifying traps that the testmaker puts into the answer choices to become better at eliminating wrong answers.
Change 4: Full Calculator
With the SAT expanding the calculator-applicable sections of the math parts of the SAT, students will no longer need to spend as much time preparing for the math sections. Instead students should devote more of their time to improving on the English sections of the SAT. By adjusting the preparation time on various sections of the SAT, students will be able to more effectively use their time.
How Pano can help
Pano’s SAT curriculum has been adjusted and designed to specifically target the needs of the new digital SAT. Here’s how:
1. A focus on eliminating answers
Pano’s curriculum includes a systematic approach to elimination answers based on the three most common traps that the Collegeboard puts into wrong answer choices. By diving in depth into how to identify Partially Wrong answers, Out of Scope answers, and Too Extreme answers, students can feel confident going into any SAT reading questions
2. Analysis of 7 different reading question types
Our SAT class also includes a different approach to each of the 7 different question types that will appear on the SAT reading section. These approaches range from main idea questions to function questions to inference questions. Each requires a slightly different thought process to answer.
3. A focus on strategies over mock tests
Rather than simply doing mock tests over and over again. The Pano system emphasizes teaching the strategies that will continue to be effective for the new SAT. Simply repeatedly doing old SAT mock tests will not be as effective when the new one comes out.
4. Pano’s unique digital SAT practice system
Pano’s own digital SAT practice system emulates the feel of the new SAT. By practicing on it, students will be able to easily familiarize them with the system that the new SAT will use. Moreover, the AI system will help students focus in on the specific types of questions that each student struggles with.
