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SAT
Scholastic Assessment Test
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New SAT 2400
The test in question is the SAT I: Reasoning Test,
commonly referred to as just the plain old SAT. The
modified SAT will be introduced in March 2005. If you
will be a high school senior graduating and looking to
enter college in 2006, you will take the new exam. If
you will be a high school senior graduating and looking
to enter college before 2006, you will take the current
version of the exam.
The Verbal Section Changes
The first change to the Verbal section is its name. On
the new SAT, this section will be called Critical
Reading. The second change to the Verbal section is the
elimination of the analogy questions. This question type
is being eliminated so that this section on the new exam
will consist entirely of critical reading questions that
will test reading skills at the sentence, paragraph, and
passage level. The third change to the Verbal section is
the addition of paragraph-length critical reasoning
questions, to supplement the existing question types of
sentence completions and reading comprehension passages.
The topics of the given texts will represent a wide
range of subjects, including science, literature,
humanities, and history.
The Math Section Changes
The Math section of the SAT will also change. Algebra II
material will be tested on the new exam in order to
better align the SAT with the math curriculum being
taught in high school classrooms. The second change to
the Math section is the elimination of quantitative
comparisons. The other two current math question types,
5-choice multiple-choice and student-produced responses,
will remain on the exam.
The New Writing Section - Essay
The biggest change to the SAT will be the introduction
of a new Writing section. The Writing section will
consist of two parts: an essay and a multiple-choice
section. Students will be given 25 minutes to respond to
a prompt and construct a well-organized essay that
effectively addresses the task. The essay question may
require students to complete a statement, to react to a
quote or an excerpt, or to agree or disagree with a
point of view. In any case, a good essay will support
the chosen position with specific reasons and examples
from literature, history, art, science, current affairs,
or even a student's own experiences.
Essays will be scored based on the procedures for the
current SAT II: Writing Test. Essays will be graded by
two independent readers on a scale of 1 - 6, and their
two scores will be combined to form an essay sub score
that ranges from 2 to 12. Should the readers' scores
vary by more than 2 points, a third reader will score
the essay. The readers will be high school teachers and
college professors who teach composition. To ensure that
essays will be scored in a timely manner, they will be
scanned and made available to readers on the Internet
for grading purposes.
The New Writing Section - Multiple-Choice
The Writing section will also include multiple-choice
grammar and usage questions. Some of these questions
will call upon students to improve given sentences and
paragraphs. Others will present students with sentences
and require them to identify mistakes in diction,
grammar, sentence construction, subject-verb agreement,
proper word usage, and wordiness.
The highest possible score on the new Writing section
will be 800. Scores on the essay and multiple-choice
section will be combined to produce a single score. A
writing sub score will also be assigned. The highest
possible scores on the Critical Reading and Math
sections will remain 800 each, making 2400 a perfect
score on the new SAT.
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