The SATs are now fully online — but what does that mean for your student?

It’s official: in true 21st century fashion, the SATs will be administered online starting this spring with a new format that is expected to be more accessible to the modern student — but also presents a few extra obstacles for local school districts. 

“I think these kids are really prepared for virtual assessments, generally speaking,” Rebecca Gottesman, the Malverne district director of school counseling, said. “They live in a virtual world. Many of our students really were born with technology.

“There was a time that this transition may have been much more of a challenge, but I think our kids are really ready for it.”.

The new format features more changes than just a lack of pen and paper. The exam will have two sections rather than three, and will also be an hour shorter. The PSATs also reflect those changes, and districts have been using those tests to get accustomed to the new testing style.

“I think the shorter length of the test will allow the students to really focus and be more efficient, and hold their attention span longer than the previous versions of the test,” she said.

The changes to the SATs come with some caveats for local school districts, however. Traditionally, the SATs are often administered on weekends so the traditional school day is not disturbed. But along with this new digital shift, the College Board is also requiring that schools who administer tests on the weekends become a national testing site, Matthew Sarosy, principal of Lynbrook High School, explained.

This means that if school districts continue to offer the test on the weekends, anyone outside of that district taking the SATs could sign up to take that test in the high school with district students. This creates several new concerns about the logistics of administering the test.

“So what the College Board is forcing us to do is to bring the tests in during the week — because if you do it during the week, then you can test only your own students,” Sarosy said. “But then that creates an incredible disruption to the academic process. We did that for the PSATs and it created an incredible amount of interruption to instruction.”

Lynbrook only has the ability to support the technology needs of its own students. Students from outside the district would have to use the district guest network — meaning an entirely different wifi, different tech support needs, and a new field of problems. These are all costs that fall on each district, Sarosy said, as they must use their own resources to administer exams.

The College Board did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment.

Despite those added logistical obstacles, administrators seem to agree that a digital shift will help students perform better on individual exams and help them be more prepared for the world after graduation.

Last year, the Malverne school district developed its “portrait of a graduate,” which is an overview of what attributes and skills a Malverne student should encompass once they’ve reached graduation. One of those skills is digital fluency.

“In order for our kids to be prepared for their future and their future careers, they have to be digitally fluent,” Gottesman said. “So our job is to prepare our kids for their future, and their future means they have to be able to live in a virtual world as well as an in-person world.

“And so I think as a district by embracing technology instead of veering away from it, we're trying to meet the kids where they are.”

Though more and more colleges and universities are becoming test-optional for admissions, student performance on exams like the SAT remain crucial for scholarships. Districts like Lynbrook and Malverne are adapting to a new generation — and a new, virtual world — to help students put their best foot forward.

“It's our responsibility to help our students prepare the best they can for some of these exams, and going digital is definitely going to help them in my opinion,” Gottesman said. “We'll see what happens, but we're ready for it.”