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The New SAT
"Taking the SAT has always been about finding tricks to get the right answer quickly, and the new one’s just the same."
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to this Commentary!
By Jazmine Livingston
This spring, all over the United States the first group of high school students took the new SAT. Youth Radio’s Jazmine Livingston sent us this commentary with her take on the new exam- and with some suggestions for students who plan to take the next new SAT on May 7th.
Yours truly showed up, pencil in hand, at eight in the morning the day of the new and “improved” SAT.
I wanted to get enough sleep, so I didn’t study the night before.
Like my friend Dennis Piñate says, it doesn’t really make sense to try and cram at the last minute.
DENNIS (on tape)
Either you know it, or you don’t. It’s that type of test- either you know the stuff, or you don’t.
JAZMINE
I did, however, take an SAT prep class. It was a free prep class given by The People’s Test Preparation Service.
You don’t have to spend like, a million dollars on SAT prep courses to feel confident about the new SAT. You just have to remember that the SAT isn’t measuring how much you know, it’s measuring how well you can reason with the information given.
All in all, I thought the new SAT was pretty easy. Taking the SAT has always been about finding tricks to get the right answer quickly, and the new one’s just the same.
Most of you out there who are planning to take the test might be dreading the new essay section. But there’s no reason to. As long as you have an opinion, and can write an intro, a body paragraph, and a conclusion, you’ll be fine! My essay question asked about the need for creativity in life today. I was able to talk about how testing itself leads to stress and the necessity of creative outlets. I actually got to criticize the SAT on the SAT! Now how cool is that? The old test had the much-hated analogies, and no essay section.
My friend, we’ll call him Wallace, took the old SAT.
WALLACE (on tape)
I wish I’d have taken the new SAT. Probably it’s a better a gauge of what you actually learn in English class. They never taught analogies, but they did teach you how to write an essay.
Thanks to the essay section, the new SAT is a little more personal – the test is actually asking for your opinion, not just “a” “b” “c” and “all of the above.” You feel like a human, not a scan-tron sheet.
As for all you “not-so-good-at-math” people out there, I think you guys can also relax. The new SAT is supposed to include harder math than the old one, but I think if you know the basic fundamentals, you’ll be fine. It’s all tricks, remember?
A lot of people psych themselves out thinking that the math on the SAT is super hard. But it seems like the fear might be worse than the reality.
I think the new SAT is a more accurate way of measuring how well equipped we are before we enter college. I mean, we all have to know how to write an essay, read critically, and solve math problems, right?
Basically, just don’t stress out about the SAT because you’ll forget stuff that you know you know. And if you mess up on the test, you can always take it again- that aspect of the SAT hasn’t changed.
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