The SAT I emerged from its makeover March 12 when the College Board administered the newly-revised test to perspective college students.
"The test was revised in order to more closely reflect what students were learning in high school and to include the writing section," College Board spokesperson Caren Scoropanof said.
The University will accept both the new and old SAT through fall 2006, Dean of Admissions John Blackburn said.
Besides the addition of a writing section, the College Board decided to remove the analogy and quantitative comparison section, according to their Web site.
"The test, on all parts, is becoming more like a classroom achievement test," Blackburn said.
The addition of the writing section has extended the test from two hours 45 minutes to three hours 45 minutes. Scoropanof said, however, the College Board felt that the addition of the writing section was very important.
"In regards to the essay portion of the test, it is the goal of the College Board that we respond to the concerns of colleges, universities and business leaders that the writing of our students improves," Scoropanof said.
The addition of the writing section on the test has eliminated the need for the writing SAT II test, she added.
The impact on University applicants will not be significant because the University, along with 60 to 70 other selective universities, required applicants to take the SAT II Writing test anyway, Blackburn said.
The University also required two additional subject tests.
"We are concerned about requiring three tests now because we're concerned about students spending so much money on testing," Blackburn said. "We're thinking of only requiring two subject tests. We'd like to have five or six scores, but we think we can probably make really good decisions with two."
The real gauge of the success of the test, however, will be from student response, Scoropanof said.
"Student response has been overwhelmingly positive," she said. "One student said she waited to take the test in March because she wanted to showcase her writing skills since she felt they were strong."
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