The digital version will also shave an hour from the current version, bringing the reading, writing and math assessment from three hours to about two. Test-takers will be allowed to use their own laptops or tablets but they'll still have to sit for the test at a monitored testing site or in school, not at home. Calculators will be allowed on the entire Math section, and scores will be available in days, rather than weeks, still on the 400-1600 point-scale.
They have designed the test software so that if there are battery or internet connectivity issues, the test will be saved and the student can return to it without losing their work.
For a full description of what aspects of the new digital SAT will stay the same and what will be different, see Collegeboard's SAT Suite of Assessments https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital?SFMC_cid=EM669978-&rid=124890901
There has also been criticism that the exams favor wealthy, white applicants and disadvantage minority and low-income students, and an increasing number of colleges have adopted test-optional policies in recent years, which let students decide whether to include scores with their applications.
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the trend as testing sessions were canceled or inaccessible. However, the SAT and ACT are still deeply ingrained in the American high school experience. More than a dozen states require one of the exams to graduate, and prior to the pandemic 10 states plus Washington, D.C., had contracts with the College Board to offer the test during the school day for free to their students.
Nearly 80% of bachelor’s degree-granting institutions are not requiring test scores from students applying for fall 2022, according to a December tally by the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a watchdog group that opposes standardized testing. The group, known as FairTest, said at least 1,400 of them have extended the policy through at least the fall 2023 admissions cycle.