Is New Always Better?

ELLEN LEI
STAFF WRITER

Many students are already aware of the redesigned SAT that will be implemented on March 2016. With the redesign of the SAT, there are bound to be several differences between the current and new SAT.

For example, there is a difference in cost. The current SAT registration fee costs $54.50 while the new one costs $43 without the optional essay and $54.50 with the essay. According to the College Board President, David Coleman, College Board is partnering with Khan Academy to provide free test preparation materials for the redesigned SAT. As a result, students do not have to spend as much on the new SAT as they would for the current version.

Although the new SAT may provide benefits, taking the current one may also provide advantages. According to Dr. Fred Zhang, a Harvard graduate who had a perfect score on the SAT, taking the current SAT is more favorable than taking the new one because the current test has been out for almost a decade so there are more study materials for the current test than the new one. Additionally, nationally recognized college expert Lynn O’Shaughnessy describes the new SAT as more challenging than the current one because the difficulty level of passages is more advanced and the questions require students to explain why their answer is correct.