流变的风云
AdmistTheWindsOfChange
wouldbebesttestedbysentenceswherethevocabularyisincontextandstudentsareforcedtofigureout
whichofthemultiplemeaningsisthemostcorrect.Thisstillrequirescomprehensionofthevocabulary,buttests
inawaymoresimilartotheoldSAT.
Thechangesintheessaysectionarewideandsweeping.Nolongerareargumentativeessayshelpful
examplesorusefulpractice.Mostpreviousmaterialwillneedtobere-writtenfromscratchinordertoaccount
forthenewSAT.Newpromptswillneedtobewrittenandpreparedforstudents’practice.Notonlyarenew
promptsnecessary,butfindingreadingsamplesthatfittheapproximately700wordlengthandarethetype
ofmaterialsuitablefortheSATisdifficult.ThisproblemwillbeamelioratedwithtimeastheCollegeBoard
producesmorepracticetestsforstudentsandteacherstoreference.Currentlythenumberofexampleprompts
andessaysislow,soteachersshouldprepareadditionalmaterial.Famoushistoricalspeechesorarticleson
scientificdiscoveriesareagoodbasisforpracticeworksheetsorexams.TheyfollowtheformattheSATprefers
andwillbeontopic.
Theshiftinessaystyletoananalyticalessayalsonecessitatesashiftinteaching.Analyticaltechniques
shouldbeemphasizedandtaught,astheywillbenecessaryforproperreadingcomprehensionandanalysis.
SincetheSATmaypullfamoushistoricalspeechesorargumentativedocuments,rhetoricaltechniquesare
usefultoinclude.Theyarewidelyapplicabletomanyformsofwritingandarethecoreofpersuasivewriting
stylesfoundinpassagestakenfromspeechesorlegaldocuments.Rhetoricaldevicesarewidelyapplicableto
criticalreadingaswellandmayproveusefultostudentsinbothareas.Studentsshouldalreadybefamiliarwith
conceptssuchascompareandcontrast,butmorespecificconceptsliketheuseofparodymaystillbevagueor
unknowntothem.UnlikepreviousSATessayswherememorizingaseriesofexamplesforanypossibleprompt
wasadvised,memorizingasetofrhetoricaldevicesforeasyuseandrecallwouldbeadvisable.Students
shouldbecomecomfortablewithanumberofcommonrhetoricaldevicesatminimumsotheycananswerany
passage.Morespecificrhetoricmasterywillmakedifferencesbetweenaverageessaysandgreatessays.
Lastly,whiletesttakingstrategiesshouldnotbethefocusofanyteachingcurriculum,theycanbehelpful.
ThechangestotheSATrequireachangeintest-takingstrategy.Withtheremovalofthepenaltyforguessing,
itisneverbeneficialtoleaveananswerblank.Allstudentsshouldbeawareofthebasicstrategyofprocessof
eliminationandthattheyshouldanswereveryquestion.Thereisnomathematicaldisadvantagetothisstrategy.
Studentsshouldalsobeawarethatwhiletheessayisoptional,itisadvisabletotake.Admissionsofficeswillnot
lookfavorablyonstudentswhoonlydothebareminimumforanexam.
Inconclusion,theSAThaschangedinanumberofways.Theamountoftimeallottedpersectionhas
shiftedsignificantly,creatingadifferenttestflowfrombefore.Questionsnowonlyhavefouroptionsandthere
isnopenaltyforincorrectanswers.TheesotericvocabularyinoldSAThasbeenremovedandreplacedwith
practicalvocabularythatbettermirrorwhatstudentswillbeexpectedtouse.ThenewSATisreading-centric
andwillrequirefastreadingspeedsandexcellentreadingcomprehensionforfullmarks.Themathsectionis
nowsplitbetweencalculatorallowedandnocalculatorallowed.Theessayhasbeencompletelychangedin
ordertofocusonanalyticalthinkingratherthanopinionatedargumentativeessays.Overallthesearenotdrastic
changes.Theshiftinthereadingandwritingisashiftinwhatisemphasizedratherthancompleteremovalsor
additionsofcontent.Thebiggestchangebyfaristhereworkoftheessaysection.Teachingchangesshould
mirrorthechangesintheSAT:minorchangestoreadingandwritinglessonsthataccuratelyreflectthenewSAT
andmajorchangestoessaywritingsections.ThenewSATsharesmanycharacteristicswiththeoldoneandis
stillatitsheartalanguagecomprehensionandapplicationexaminregardstothereading,writing,andessays
sections;ithasbeenmodernizedtobringituptocodewithmodernstandardsandaddressperceivedshort-
comings.
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