College Board recommendations for upcoming state test

All factual information in this article is product of the College Board Website.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a comprehensive assessment of a student?s critical reading, writing, and mathematical skills. It is offered in the US seven times a year in Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan., March, May and June. Internationally (outside of the US) the test is offered a total of six times per year.

. General attendees of the SAT are college bound junior and senior students. Nearly half of these participants take the test at least twice and generally improve upon retaking it.

Jordan Castro, ’15, is retaking the SAT this Saturday, Oct. 11. Despite his initial fears, Castro hopes to improve his overall score and further bolster his college application.

“I am nervous for the SAT because basically the higher your SAT scores the more opportunity for scholarships and benefits for your future you have,” Castro said. “Of course there?s stress to do well, but at this point I?m feeling pretty confident in my previous scores. My biggest fear would not be improving because it would make the last week pointless and I have put a lot of work into it.”

The SAT is considered in the college application process among a number of factors including and not limited to, high school grades, GPA and extracurricular activities. The weight of these individual factors depends upon the particular school’s standards and requirements. To search the SAT requirements for colleges of interest the College Board has provided a School Search on their website.

Senior Zach Smith, ’15, is confident about his next attempt at the SAT and plans not to study.

“I plan not to study for the SATs this year,” Smith said. “I don?t think it?s necessary because it is a pretty general test. I would not say I am nervous at all.”

Students are encouraged to take advantage of several study methods including the Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT); Prep courses, and free online resources. However, such preparation should also be supplemented with practical in class experiences and hard work.
&%picture2placement%&
Junior Morgan Miller will be taking the SAT for the first time in this next week. Over the last few months she has prepared for the ACT and hopes that her studies will benefit her in future tests. She fears that the stress of the experience may cause her to forget key information. However, Miller is consoled by the realization that she will have the chance to retake it.

“I?m nervous, but it helps to know that I will probably take it again,” Miller said. “A major fear for me would be blanking on the information or running out of time. My hope is to get a good score and see where I?m at. I know that after this year I will have time to improve it.”

The SAT is graded on a 2400 point scale with 200-800 points per section. A fraction of a point is subtracted for all wrong answers except for questions entered into a grid format in the math section. There is no penalty for unanswered questions.

In the spring of 2016 the SAT is scheduled to be reformatted. Some of the future modifications include greater focus on the meaning of words in context, interpretation of evidence, analyzation of a source, applicable math sections, real world contexts, social studies and US founding documents. The redesigned SAT will not penalize wrong answers.

For more news, read the Oct. 1 article, Annual Grandparents Day set, Oct. 3 (VIDEO).

Follow The Feather via Twitter and Instagram: @thefeather and @thefeatheronlilne. This writer can be reached via Twitter: @skylerklee.