Computer-Adaptive Testing (Like the SAT Wasn't Bad Enough Anyway)

Standardized testing added a new wrinkle with the Digital SAT, but despite it aggravating qualities the test is still standardized.

Since the SAT can now be taken on these devices, it could be “easier” or more annoying. Photo by Revendo on Unsplash

The Digital SAT^® was created, as the College Board has repeatedly said since its announcement, to make things easier. The test is easy! Students find it more enjoyable! Administrators don’t have to stress about as much! Everyone is out an hour earlier! Or at least that’s the idea.

Key to this “ease” is that the test is on a computer and, especially, that it is computer-adaptive. There are plenty of odd things about the SAT. The structures for Reading, Writing, and Math questions are particular. The rules about how to use the Bluebook app on test day are intense. The scoring system for each section is still the nearly impenetrable 200-800 scale, despite all the other changes the test has undergone.¹ Yet the College Board can give you a score that separates you from other test-takers in slightly more than two-hours of testing time.

That is because the test is Computer-Adaptiv…