In the new SAT, the essay portion of the test will be optional and administered at the end of the SAT. Although they say it's optional, we expect colleges and universities to require this. With all of its components, (Writing, Reading, Math and Essay) the test will be a total of 3 hours and 50 minutes.
Reading and Writing will combine to produce a score out of 800, bringing the possible composite score to 1600 (Math 800 Verbal 800). FYI, the 1600 point SAT is the same possible score it had prior to 2005.
You'll like these two: the dreaded 1/4 point deductions for getting a multiple choice question incorrect will be finally lifted. Also, instead of 5 multiple choice bubbles (A to E), they have reduced it down to 4 bubbles (A to D).
An emphasis will be placed on the meaning of words within the text. You'll use the context of the passages to shape its meaning, tone and impact.
Scoring the essay changes too! The essay score will no longer be combined with the Verbal score of the SAT (as it does today). It will be graded on three traits (reading, analysis, and writing skills), giving your student a score of 2 to 8 on each trait. Instead of writing a persuasive essay with real, made-up and/or personal life examples, you'll be asked to produce a written analysis from provided sourced text.