Spring Break
The Daily OrangeAdmissions prepare for new SATs
By Julianne Pepitone
Posted: 3/2/05, 12:24 AM EST Section: News
High school classes graduating in 2006 will be the first to take a new SAT, which includes more difficult problems in the math portion and an entirely new writing section.
The new SAT will bring changes at both the high school and college levels, including Syracuse University, but dean of admissions Susan Donovan said SU's admissions board will continue to focus more on the student's academic record rather than standardized tests.
"The Admissions Committee carefully reads each student's application file individually," Donovan said. "Emphasis is placed on high school curriculum and performance; test scores have always been less important than the high school record."
According to the College Board Web site, collegeboard.com, the math section will now include topics from algebra II, including exponential growth and absolute value. Previously, the SAT did not test third-year math skills. Quantitative comparisons in the math section and analogies in the verbal section have each been eliminated.
An additional 800 points will come from the new writing section. Students will have
25 minutes to write an essay on a given topic, which will be scored from one to six. The section will also include a 35-minute portion for multiple-choice writing and grammar questions.
Stephen Stelzner, a guidance counselor at Nottingham High School, said he believes both colleges and high schools alike will require some time to adjust to the new test.
"I've been talking to colleges about it. They're going to take a 'wait-and-see' attitude," Stelzner said. "They're going to be looking at the writing for at least a couple of years and see how it works out. They want to compare that part of the test with college essays."
But Stelzner also noted the adjustment period does not mean college admissions will not immediately take the new test into account.
Stelzner also said the writing section will give colleges new insight into a student's true skills.
The new SAT will bring changes at both the high school and college levels, including Syracuse University, but dean of admissions Susan Donovan said SU's admissions board will continue to focus more on the student's academic record rather than standardized tests.
"The Admissions Committee carefully reads each student's application file individually," Donovan said. "Emphasis is placed on high school curriculum and performance; test scores have always been less important than the high school record."
According to the College Board Web site, collegeboard.com, the math section will now include topics from algebra II, including exponential growth and absolute value. Previously, the SAT did not test third-year math skills. Quantitative comparisons in the math section and analogies in the verbal section have each been eliminated.
An additional 800 points will come from the new writing section. Students will have
25 minutes to write an essay on a given topic, which will be scored from one to six. The section will also include a 35-minute portion for multiple-choice writing and grammar questions.
Stephen Stelzner, a guidance counselor at Nottingham High School, said he believes both colleges and high schools alike will require some time to adjust to the new test.
"I've been talking to colleges about it. They're going to take a 'wait-and-see' attitude," Stelzner said. "They're going to be looking at the writing for at least a couple of years and see how it works out. They want to compare that part of the test with college essays."
But Stelzner also noted the adjustment period does not mean college admissions will not immediately take the new test into account.
Stelzner also said the writing section will give colleges new insight into a student's true skills.
