The New SAT - Winding Up Our Series

Today we present the last post of our four-part series on changes to the SAT, which we began last week with an examination of how the revised test reflects the controversial Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Part II discussed how test-taking strategies will be (somewhat) less important in the new exam and looked at minor changes to the reading sections. Part III examined changes to the writing and math sections and discussed the importance of reading for all aspects of the test. This final post of the series gives our recommendations about what students should do in the face of these changes.

Our Recommendations

First, we suggest that students who plan to take the SAT this year register to take the original test on January 23rd, the last time it will be offered. Students who sit for the old test can take advantage of tried-and-true test preparation materials. Also, the content is likely more familiar to them. Another reason not to wait for March: results for the first reconfigured SAT won’t be available until May, which is about twice as long as students usually have to wait. The deadline to register for the January test date is December 28th, so don’t delay!

Remember that students can take the SAT multiple times, and that colleges consider only their highest scores. Applicants can even combine their best scores on the math and verbal sections for the highest possible composite, so there’s no need to worry if your teenager nails the math portion on one test but aces the verbal section on another; the highest scores will simply be added together. With this in mind, we suggest that high school juniors, seniors, and maybe even sophomores who can spare the time and money may want to sit for the January test, even if they haven’t devoted too much time to studying. Because of the comparatively limited exposure many students have had to the CCSS, they may fare better on the old test than on the redesigned version. If they don’t score as well as they’d hoped, they can always test again; the poor scores won’t be considered.

In terms of preparing for the new test, keep a few things in mind:

• Tutors, test preparation centers, and books are going to lag behind a little here. Though practice versions of the new test are available from the College Board’s website, no one has actually seen the real thing yet, so the test prep industry will need time to review the new exam and prepare effective study materials. Students who can’t test in January will probably want to skip the March test date if possible; waiting a while will allow time for the production of better preparation resources.

• According to test tutors cited in The New York Times, the best way to prepare for the new SAT is to read. A lot. Students should read deeply and widely, meaning that they need to read in a thoughtful, critical way, and that they should dip into various genres. A fantasy novel habit or an addiction to the sports page won’t cut it, since passages on the test will be from various genres. And those who want to prepare for the test should practice reading shorter passages--rather than novels--that they can discuss and analyze with someone who can give them feedback and push their thinking further. 

• Whether it’s a vocabulary quiz, the SAT, or the MCAT, gaining familiarity with a test’s format is enormously helpful. Those preparing to take either version of the SAT should know how many sections there are and how long they’ll get for each. They should understand which materials they will be allowed (e.g. scratch paper, calculator, etc.). Most importantly, they should have an idea of what the questions themselves will look like. So far, the only preparation materials available come from the College Board itself; find sample questions here. In addition, four full-length practice tests are available so that students can simulate test day. We suggest taking the first without time constraints, then looking for an error pattern and studying accordingly. Take the second or third test with a timer after studying strategically. 

• Finally, students with special learning needs must make sure that their certifications for accommodations are up to date. The new SAT will require a tremendous ability to focus without interruption for long periods. Extra time could make a critical difference for those with attention difficulties. Students who struggle with decoding will want to use readers to help them access the test material so they can devote more mental energy to comprehension. Parents or teachers of younger children who have concerns should remember that when it comes to getting necessary accommodations on the SAT, earlier assessment and diagnosis is better. A young person with a history of receiving accommodations is much more likely to be granted what she needs for the SAT than someone who is given a formal diagnosis just before the test. 

The New SAT - Part III of our Series

Today we present the third part of our four-part series on changes to the SAT, which we began last week with an examination of how the revised test reflects the controversial Common Core State Standards. Part II discussed  how test-taking strategies will be (somewhat) less important in the new exam and on minor changes in the reading sections. Today's post will examine changes to the writing and math sections and discuss the importance of reading to all aspects of the test. The final post of the series will give our recommendations as to what to do about the changes to the SAT, including registering by December 28, 2015 to take the last sitting of the old version of the SAT on January 23, 2016. 

Writing Section is Optional, but Get Ready to Read

One of the biggest differences between the new test and the old one is that the writing section is now optional. This means a return to the old 1600-point scale, with an additional 800 points possible for an excellent essay. An elective writing portion is great news for both students who struggle to compose a strong essay under time constraints and those who feel fatigued after a long day of testing. While the old test took three hours and 45 minutes to complete, without the essay section the new test will take three hours. Those who wish to write the essay will sit for an extra 55 minutes.

Students who opt to try the essay in hopes that a strong score will wow colleges should know that this portion of the test is just as much about reading as it is about writing. Test-takers must read a passage - samples provided by the College Board are between 650 and 700 words - and then write an evidence-based essay (meaning that it makes specific references to the passage) explaining how the author “builds an argument.” In the past, students were scored on their ability to present and explain their own stance inspired by a reading passage; now they must critique someone else’s work, leaving their own opinions and conclusions out of it and merely presenting facts. Since reading critically goes a step beyond basic comprehension, it’s safe to stay that a student’s shaky reading skills will likely impact his or her writing score.

Virtually all college applications require at least one essay, so students who wish to showcase their writing skills will certainly have other chances to do so. Those who benefit from the drafting process may want to skip the SAT’s essay and concentrate on submitting a polished, outstanding application essay instead.

Math: Broader Focus, Longer Questions, Limited Use of Calculators

In addition to lots and lots of algebra, students will find more trigonometry and statistics on the new SAT and less geometry. Although statistics is generally not a popular course for high school students, it is a concentration that’s built into the math curriculum across grade levels in schools that have adopted the Common Core State Standards, so students who study CCSS-aligned curriculum should find the content familiar. But young people who don’t get as far as trigonometry will suffer. The more math courses a test-taker has under his or her belt, the better, so those who didn’t begin algebra until high school will be at a disadvantage.

Reading plays a large role in the math portion of the test, too. Instead of simply asking students to solve equations, many math problems on the SAT require them to analyze mathematical situations described in passages. Alternatively, some questions are comprised of fairly short statements about equations, but each answer choice is presented as a dense sentence. Students may wish to practice underlining and making notes while reading word problems to help narrow their focus to the essential elements presented.

Many students in high-level math courses have become accustomed to using calculators for every problem; teachers often reason that the students’ primary job at that level is to wrestle with complex concepts and not arithmetic. But calculators aren’t allowed on one of the math sections of the new SAT, so students would do well to leave these tools in their backpacks during the occasional homework assignment to remind themselves how to tackle equations by hand. Those who have lost some fluency with simple math facts may find that performing these rusty skills the old-fashioned way drains mental energy they need to work through complex problems on the test. Practice will help.

The New SAT - Part II of our Series

We are continuing with our four-part series on changes to the SAT, which we began last week with an examination of how the revised test reflects the controversial Common Core State Standards. Today's post looks at how test-taking strategies will be (somewhat) less important in the new exam and on minor changes in the reading sections. The remaining sections will be posted later this week:

• Part III will examine changes to the writing and math sections and discuss the importance of reading to all aspects of the test.
• Finally, in part IV, we will provide our recommendations as to what to do about the changes to the SAT, including registering by December 28, 2015 to take the last sitting of the old version of the SAT on January 23, 2016. 

Test-Taking Strategies Will be (Somewhat) Less Important

All test-takers would do well to be strategic when sitting for a high-stakes exam. But the elimination of the so-called “guessing penalty” from the SAT means that students can devote a little more focus to the new test’s content and less to its form. The previous SAT offered students five answer choices for each question. A correct answer earned a point, and students were not penalized for questions left unanswered. Each incorrect answer, however, cost test-takers a quarter of a point, so many testing prep courses urged students not to make a guess unless they could eliminate three of the five answer choices with fair certainty. This structure forced students to try to identify correct answers and calculate their odds of success simultaneously, an extra tax for active working memory.

The new SAT will present students with only four choices, and instead of incurring a penalty for wrong answers they simply won’t get credit. In our book, this difference is a good one for students because it allows them to devote their mental resources to the questions themselves, not to the format of the test. It also levels the playing field a little for students with less access to test preparation courses and materials; these young people are less likely to learn about useful testing strategies and so face a disadvantage. Students should still expect some sneaky tactics, however, such as answer choices designed to mislead the inattentive or unsure.

Reading: Small Changes

Much of the reading section looks the same as it has in the past, though there may be more informational passages and fewer texts from novels and stories. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) place a large emphasis on evidence-based conclusions, however, and this may be tricky for some students. For example, one question on a practice test provided by the College Board asks students to draw a conclusion, and the following question asks which part of the passage provides the best evidence for their previous answer. A student can’t get the second question right if he misses the first.

Studying for the SAT’s vocabulary questions used to entail memorizing sometimes obscure words and definitions. Instead of relying on long-term memory to answer vocabulary questions, students taking the new test will need good reading comprehension skills. The revamped exam will query students on words that are more “practical,” but in order to answer questions about their definitions, readers will have to understand how they are used in context. For example, one of the sample reading questions asks whether “intense,” as used in the passage, most nearly means “emotional,” “concentrated,” “brilliant,” or “determined.” Simply being able to define “intense” isn’t enough to answer this question; one must understand the word’s function within the text.

Perhaps the most important thing to know about reading and the new SAT, however, is that good reading skills are essential for success on the whole test, not just the language arts sections.

Our Thoughts on the New SAT

Today we begin a four-part series on changes to the SAT. We start with an examination of how the revised test reflects the controversial Common Core State Standards.

• Part II will look at how test-taking strategies will be (somewhat) less important in the new exam and on minor changes in the reading sections.
• Part III will examine changes to the writing and math sections and discuss the importance of reading to all aspects of the test.
• Finally, in part IV, we will provide our recommendations as to what to do about the changes to the SAT, including registering by December 28, 2015 to take the last sitting of the old version of the SAT on January 23, 2016. 

Part I
The SAT test has recently undergone the biggest set of changes since the writing section was introduced in 2005. The new test, which will be available for the first time on March 3, 2016, reflects the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that have been adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia, according to The New York Times. It purports to identify students who can analyze, not memorize. Should students welcome the change, or feel apprehensive? We’ll go over some of the major changes and offer some commentary about how they will affect students, particularly students with learning differences. Spoiler alert: Strong readers will bear up to the changes best.

Common Core is Underscored

The CCSS, which teach students to be critical evaluators who draw evidence-based conclusions, are heavily reflected in the new SAT. Regardless of one’s personal opinion about the controversial curriculum, it is safe to say that the transition can be challenging. Many students have struggled to meet the new standards, and many teachers, too, are engaged in a game of pedagogical trial and error.

These growing pains are natural for any school that undergoes major changes. But current students experiencing the transition are likely to see its effects reflected in their SAT scores as well as in their day-to-day lessons. Although most states that adopted the standards did so in 2010, a majority have implemented changes incrementally. Eighteen states, including New York, committed to full implementation by 2014, meaning that students who take the new SAT this year may have had only one full year exposed to the new curriculum (and taught by teachers still learning the ropes). Thirteen states will fully implement the standards during the course of this year. Nevada does not plan to implement the Common Core in full until 2016, and California will not do so until 2017. But even students in those states have an edge over those in Texas, Nebraska, Virginia, and Alaska, where the Common Core has not been adopted at all.

It is possible that this unevenness will mitigate somewhat as time passes: More students will spend more time with the new standards under the tutelage of teachers who have grown comfortable with the new expectations. But young people in states like North Dakota and Georgia, where the CCSS was fully implemented by 2013, may have an initial edge on test day.

New Guidance on Testing Accommodations

Standardized exams -- SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT, LSAT, and others -- are  "gateways to educational and employment opportunities" and the entities that offer these tests are to required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to offer these exams in a manner accessible to persons with disabilities.

The ADA came into being in 1990 and was amended in 2008 in an effort by Congress to overturn the impact of several judicial decisions that narrowed its intended scope. New Regulations implementing the revised ADA were adopted in 2010.

Despite the revised regulations, there has continued to be resistance on the part of testing agencies, especially the Law School Admissions Council, which oversees the LSAT, to  extending accommodations to students with disabilities. Even where there has been no pattern of resistance to offering accommodations, confusion about what should be offered and to whom has raised questions for schools, testing agencies, and students.

 The Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has noted that they continue "to receive questions and complaints relating to excessive and burdensome documentation demands, failures to provide needed testing accommodations, and failures to respond to requests for testing accommodations in a timely manner."

In response to these questions and complaints, the Department of Justice has just released new guidelines for testing accommodations.  Among the highlights of this document are the following:

• A person with a history of academic success may still be a person with a disability who is entitled to testing accommodations under the ADA
• Any documentation if required by a testing entity in support of a request for testing accommodations must be reasonable and limited to the need for the requested testing accommodations
• Proof of past testing accommodations in similar test settings is generally sufficient to support a request for the same testing accommodations for a current standardized exam or other high-stakes test
• An absence of previous formal testing accommodations does not preclude a candidate from receiving testing accommodations
• Testing entities should defer to documentation from a qualified professional who has made an individualized assessment of the candidate that supports the need for the requested testing accommodations. A testing entity should generally accept such documentation and provide the recommended testing accommodation without further inquiry

Every student who anticipates taking a standardized test, every educator and administrator who works with such students, and every testing service that administers such tests should take the time to carefully review these guidelines. They are clear, concise, and very specific about what they do -- and do not -- require. 

Khan Academy Now Offers SAT Prep and College Guidance

Most folks are familiar with Khan Academy as the innovative and free online learning tool that teaches mathematical concepts to students of all ages. However, Khan has been rapidly expanding their team of content experts and growing the wealth of courses they offer. Now students can use the same Khan format that taught them ninth grade algebra to learn concepts in the sciences, history, computer programming and art history.

Starting in 2013, Khan Academy partnered with Bank of America to begin teaching the minutiae of personal finance. As a result, the website Better Money Habits was born, and Khan expanded their library to include courses on microeconomics, entrepreneurship and capital markets. However, strong educational partnerships aren’t new for Khan Academy. Khan has also paired with NASA, MIT, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMa to help bring the educational resources each institution houses to a larger audience for free. Students can log on to peruse famous works of art, or better understand space exploration. Khan has grown into something so much more than a remedial math application. They even have LeBron James asking mathematical questions that the team at Khan answers in their LeBron Asks segments. 

Now, Khan has ventured into the arena of test prep. Khan has once again forged a beneficial partnership - this time with the  College Board - to help make today’s students college ready. The result of this collaboration is that Khan is now offering, for the first time, a free, comprehensive SAT prep course. The Khan+CollegeBoard program offers practice questions, video lessons, diagnostic quizzes, real time feedback and four official, full length practice tests. The Khan SAT prep program follows the same principles that underpin every other course offered by Khan in that it is personalized, adaptive and free. However, Khan’s test prep ventures don’t stop with the SAT. Khan Academy currently also offers free, digital resources to help students prep for the GMAT, MCAT, NCLEX-RN (nursing exam) and CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam).

Khan isn’t just focusing on standardized test prep in order to help make America’s students college ready. Khan Academy has also curated a wealth of resources to help students navigate the intricacies of college admissions. Khan Academy offers content to help students plan during their high school years for college, explore college options, navigate the application process and determine the best way to pay for college. Khan is rapidly expanding, and we are excited to see them keep disrupting the education sector by offering free, educationally sound, high quality learning resources that are accessible to anyone with internet access.

The Numbers Game: Standardized Testing and Student Ability

Unless you happen to be particularly interested in educational policy in the state of Texas, it's likely that you missed news of a legislative hearing that took place in Austin in June 2012. The Texas House Public Education Committee had met to interview experts about the relationship between learning and standardized testing. Although Texas had injected new rigor into its state-wide tests, student achievement wasn't improving and the committee wanted to know why.

Dr. Walter Stroup, a tenured professor at the University of Texas, was one of those experts. When his turn came, he spoke about what standardized tests do and what they don't do. His research, he said, indicated that tests don't measure what the test-taker has learned. They measure how good the test-taker is at taking tests.

This was a controversial statement (particularly to an organization that had invested tens of millions of dollars on the tests in question), and Stroup's testimony launched a complicated series of events. A recent, lengthy article in the Texas Observer provides detailed information about the fallout, which is ongoing. But regardless of how things continue to play out in Texas, Stroup's perspective on testing reflects, in many ways, our perspective on assessment at the Yellin Center.

Assessments are the cornerstone of our work, and assessments include numbers. But, as each of the students and families with whom we work has no doubt heard Dr. Yellin say, "We're not big numbers people." This perspective is evident in our reports. We don't put the tables of scores front and center; instead, they appear in the back of the report. This format is deliberate. We don't present scores first because our reports are written to capture our authentic, three-dimensional impressions of a student and her mind, and numbers often fail to tell the whole story.

In fact, sometimes numbers tell a story that can be misleading. This can happen for myriad reasons, but here is one example: If a student has an expressive language disability, she'll have difficulty expressing her ideas. She is unlikely to be able to communicate the complexity of her thoughts and cognitive processes using language. But if she is given a full-scale IQ measure, she'll have to use words and sentences to respond to much of the test content. Her overall score is likely to be low because even if she is able to think of the right answers, she may not be able to articulate them. Her oral and written output will not reflect the intricacy of her mind. Simply reporting a low IQ score obtained with such measures for this student without putting this score in the context of her expressive language difficulties would do her an injustice.

We see this kind of scenario frequently at the Yellin Center. Parents will bring us their student and explain that the standardized test scores they've seen just don't fit the child they know. And so, we set to work. It's true that many of the measures a student completes during an assessment at the Yellin Center are standardized. But our clinicians are equally, if not more, interested in the qualitative information that can be gleaned than in the scores the measure yields. We analyze errors to find patterns, and we ask questions that many assessors may not, so that we can figure out how students attained the right answers and which aspects of tasks gave them difficulty. This approach allows us to view scores as just one piece of the puzzle as we work to determine an accurate, actionable cognitive profile for each student.

As Dr. Stroup suggests, standardized tests serve a purpose, but they shouldn't be used as standalone measures. It's pretty nice when a renowned expert affirms something you've been saying all along.