Packets of topics, bubble sheets, and #2 pencils are gone. The SAT has officially gone digital. Collegeboard decided to make this switch for a few reasons:
- Faster score reporting
- Accessible for students all around the world
- Allows every student to receive a unique test form (impossible to cheat which makes exam more secure)
- Shorter for more time per question but has more texts and topics
Although there are advantages, there are also some disadvantages. Loss of focus, technical problems, more difficulty, etc. Paper testing is what students have been used to so this change can hurt students’ skills.
With this happening, it has caused some controversy. People either hate it or love it, but here are some opinions of students who have experienced this new phenomenon:
“I enjoyed taking it digitally because I feel like I’m less stressed and I like how it gives us our scores immediately rather than having to wait months,” said junior Agatha Morrison.
“My experience taking the SAT digitally was more difficult because the screen hurt my eyes and I lost focus very easily. I also did not like that when you get the questions right, the questions get harder,” said junior Samantha Reyes.
“I did not like it at all, I couldn’t focus, it hurt my eyes and gave me a headache, I felt like it was harder to take it seriously because on paper I’m very focused and more stressed, but on the iPad, it really just felt like a quiz one my teachers gave me,” said junior Maria Cid.
Everyone has different perspectives and different experiences on everything, so it is too soon to tell if this will affect students’ scores or cause issues later on.
But for now, Immaculata-La Salle will be providing digital testing so at the very least, students won’t have to stock on #2 pencils anymore.
