New SATs Put New Pressure On High School Students
By Diana Sanders

For a high school student, the educational process involves midterms, projects, presentations and homework of varying degrees of difficulty for course loads that differ for each individual. But common to almost every high school student are the extreme pressures of taking one specific test during their entire four years of school. The Scholastic Assessment Tests, more often referred to as the famous SATs, grow in importance as students enter high school and loom larger during the succeeding four years.

Often the SATs are the basic ticket to a prestigious college, perhaps with a scholarship, and a promising future. Students who obtain high academic grades throughout their high school career with hopes of attaining higher education know that a high grade point average (GPA) is simply not enough. Some may argue that hanging a student’s fate on a single exam is highly unfair and unreasonable, but it is standard procedure for many colleges. The SAT puts aside individual high school curriculums, teacher favoritism and individual methods of educating. It is one exam, measuring the abilities of students on the same given scale. Yes, there are some people who unfortunately do poorly under pressure or during exams. However the SATs cannot be tailored to each student, but must be uniform.

Until last year, SATs had two sections, mathematics and verbal, with a perfect score for the two being 1600 points. But starting March 12, 2005, a new version of the exam was introduced, featuring not only changes to the math and verbal sections, but an added writing section worth another 800 points, making a perfect score of 2400 points. The new section tests students’ abilities to recognize grammatical errors, improve sentences and write an essay, all during a set time.

The differences in the mathematics section include fewer quantitive comparison questions, in which students compare two columns, and a wider range of Algebra II. The verbal section is now known as critical reading. Analogies in which students identify relationships between different terms, which were often a trouble spot for many students, have been omitted.

The alterations in the exam were designed to further challenge students on a wider range of skills, hence the writing section. However, with the recently added changes, students are limited as to how they can study for the SATs. Students do not really know what to expect. Using a previous exam as a study guide is impossible. There is, however, an online course—for a fee—and study guides for the exam are available at www.collegeboard. com, the official SAT center. Students are finding none of these aids promising.

As competition becomes fiercer, many students turn to personal SAT preparatory courses provided by companies such as Kaplan and Princeton Review. These companies charge as much as $1,000 for their courses, but while they promise improvement in test scores, there is no guarantee. Large amounts of money invested in high SAT scores at times seem to have had no effect, while at other times provide great rewards.

The key does not lie in paying large amounts of money for prep classes, nor in pulling allnighters the week before the exam. Students should get acquainted with the style and requirements of the test early in their high school careers, or even late in junior high school. A student’s familiarity with a certain exam style over a long period of time builds confidence and takes away most of the anxiety during the exam. Schools in some parts of New York state, such as Westchester County, also provide children with introductory courses to SATs in intermediate school.

Since the test is administered nationwide, students compete with each other for ranking and percentages. Not only is how high the score important, but also how high the score is compared to the rest of the country’s test takers.

Students, especially juniors who are cramming in one subject and then another can relate to the intense pressure. The College Board Web site gives helpful hints for the panicking scholar. Tips such as answer easy questions first, omit unknown questions and keep track of time are useful reminders for the timed exam. The suggestion “guess smart, and don’t panic if you cannot answer a question” on the other hand, is much easier said than done.

The three-hour 45-minute, $41.50 exam that is offered seven times in a given year is a key element in the college application process. Those with a high GPA, but poor SAT scores are at risk of either rejection from a certain college, since almost all American colleges require the exam, or possible scholarships. The exam, around since 1901, has come a long way from its beginnings but still remains the most important universal standardized exam for students seeking college admission in the United States. The next SAT will be administered on April 1, 2006. Visit www.collegeboard. com for more details and information on the SATs.