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Tunkhannock School Reacts to SAT Changes

TUNKHANNOCK — The Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, is changing. The College Board announced the changes on Wednesday. Current high school freshmen will b...

TUNKHANNOCK -- The Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, is changing.

The College Board announced the changes on Wednesday.

Current high school freshmen will be the first to try it out in a couple of years.

A school counselor in Tunkhannock Area said the changes reflect competition in the testing market.

"More college applicants, high school students, were taking the ACT than the SAT for college entrance examinations," said Eliza Comly, Tunkhannock Are School Counselor.

The changes will make the two tests more alike.

"The way we explain to students is like Coke or Pepsi. It really comes down to preference," said Comly.

Starting in 2016, the essay portion of the sat will be optional, scoring returns to a 1,600 point scale from the current 2,400 points, there will be no deduction for wrong answers, obscure vocabulary will be replaced and certain math sections will not allow a calculator. Another change to the test could make SAT prep books become useless in 2016.

"One part of their announcement, wasn't just about the changes in the test, but accessibility. They're partnering with the Kahn academy, which is an online program you can use for tutoring and it's free," said Comly.

Some students who have already taken the SAT do not like the changes.

"I know I've spent countless hours studying and writing essays. So the fact that they might not do it is kind of. Eh," said Aidan Cronin, a junior at Tunkhannock Area High School.

A freshman at Tunkhannock Area, Sabrina Traver, said she's nervous about the new test. "The writing part is kind of like the self-expression and that affects your score. If you get a high enough score, you get into a certain college. So I think that's the extra boost that may or may not be so good."

High school English teacher Renee Jones believes the changes coming to the vocabulary section are a good idea, "It's more important to be able to apply that knowledge of the word and think about it, use it in different ways than it is to just memorize the definition of a word. "

If you'd like to see a full list of the changes, click here.

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