Keep This Handout in Your Notebook As We Progress Through the Year

SAT English Prep Class|Mrs. Roney Name: ______

MP #1 / HO#: 2

Overview of New SAT / PSAT/NMSQT Tests[1]

Keep this handout in your Notebook as we progress through the year.

Reading Test

In the Reading Test, students will encounter questions like those asked in a lively, thoughtful, evidence-based discussion.

Quick Facts

• All Reading Test questions are multiple choice(4 answer choices of A, B, C, D) and based on passages.
• Some passages are paired with other passages or informational graphics, such as charts, graphs, and tables.
• No mathematical computation is required.
• Prior topic-specific knowledge is never tested.

The Reading-Writing Connection

All assessments in the SAT Suite of Assessments will include a Reading Test and a Writing and Language Test. A student’s scores on these two tests are combined to arrive at a section score for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.

The exam structure reflects the relationship between these two literacy skills and their shared focus on textual evidence, relevant words in context, and application of skills across the curriculum.

Passages

All Reading Test passages are selected from previously published works and represent some of the best writing and thinking in the fields of classic and contemporary U.S. and world literature, history/social studies, and science. The passages on the Reading Test vary in complexity, ranging from texts like those found in challenging courses in grades nine and 10 to texts comparable to those assigned in typical college-level, credit-bearing courses. The test asks students to base their answers on what is stated or implied in the passages and any accompanying supplementary material, such as informational graphics.

Some history and social studies passages are selections from U.S. founding documents and the texts they have inspired. Engaging and often culturally and historically important, they wrestle with problems at the heart of civic and political life. Other passages discuss topics in economics, psychology, sociology, and other social sciences.

Science passages examine both foundational concepts and recent developments in biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth science.

Distinctive Features

The Reading Test will support the redesigned SAT’s emphasis on analysis in history/social studies passages; the interpretation of words in context and command of evidence will be highlighted in science passages.

Literacy across the curriculum is of primary importance; questions will test students on analysis in history/social studies and analysis in science. In many cases, students will need to make use of the ways of thinking important to a particular field to analyze passages and graphics. For example:

• Science passages may be paired with questions focused on hypotheses, experimentation, and data.
• Literature passages may be paired with questions focused on theme, mood, and characterization.

“SAT words” will no longer be vocabulary students may not have heard before and are not likely to hear again. Instead, the SAT will focus on words that derive their meaning from the contexts in which they are used.

Some questions will test how well students understand words in context. These are words and phrases used widely in college and career texts, the meaning of which depends on how they’re used in particular situations. Students will need to use the context clues they find in passages to determine the precise meaning of words and phrases that the author intended.

The Reading Test will assess three facets of command of evidence:

• The use of evidence: Students will need to find the evidence in a passage that best supports the answer to a previous question or that serves as the basis for a reasonable conclusion.
• The analysis of an argument: Students will need to identify the way authors use evidence to support their claims.
• The analysis of quantitative information: Students will need to examine informational graphics and relate the information conveyed by them to the information and ideas conveyed through words.

Informational Graphics

The Reading Test includes two passages accompanied by one or two related graphics (for example, charts, graphs, or tables). Students will be asked to interpret a graphic’s meaning and make connections between graphic and passage. However, they’ll never need to use mathematical computation to answer the questions.

Sample Questions

Learn about the Reading Test firsthand by viewing sample questions from the redesigned SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and PSAT™ 10. Each exam will include Reading questions from three skill categories that connect to two subscores.

Writing and Language Test

The Writing and Language Test puts students in the active role of an editor who is improving a written passage. Most questions ask students to decide which, if any, of the three alternatives to an underlined part of a passage most improves it.

Quick Facts

• All Writing and Language Test questions are multiple choice and based on passages.
• Some passages are paired with informational graphics such as charts, graphs, and tables.
• Prior topic-specific knowledge is never tested.
• No mathematical computation is required.

The Reading–Writing Connection

All components of the redesigned SAT Suite of Assessments will include a Reading Test and a Writing and Language Test. A student’s scores on these two tests are combined to arrive at a section score for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.

The test structure reflects the relationship between these two literacy skills and their shared focus on textual evidence, words in context, and application of skills across the curriculum.

Passages

All Writing and Language passages will be created especially for the test so that errors can be intentionally introduced. Passages will be several paragraphs long so that students can engage in complex, real-world revision and editing tasks, and students will often need to have a good understanding of one or more paragraphs, or even the entire passage, to answer a particular question. The passages on the Writing and Language Test vary in complexity, ranging from texts like those found in challenging courses in grades 9 and 10 to texts comparable to those found in typical college-level, credit-bearing courses.

Passages take the form of arguments, informative/explanatory texts, or nonfiction narratives. They address topics related to careers, history/social studies, the humanities, and science.

Distinctive Features

The Writing and Language Test will support the redesigned SAT’s emphasis on analysis in history/social studies passages, and the interpretation of words in context and command of evidence in science passages.

Some questions will test students on the expression of ideas. These questions ask students to improve topic development, organization, and rhetorical effectiveness. This category includes passages on the topics of science and history/social studies. Thus, some Writing and Language Test questions will also test students on analysis in science and analysis in history/social studies.

Other questions test students on their understanding of standard English conventions. These ask students to edit text so that words, phrases, sentences, and punctuation are used appropriately and in a way that is consistent with the practices of standard written English.

As on the Reading Test, some Writing and Language Test questions assess how well students understand words in context. These questions ask students to improve passages by using words carefully and with purpose.

Students’ command of evidence is also assessed by some questions on the Writing and Language Test, as on the Reading Test. These questions assess how well students revise a passage to improve the way it develops information and ideas.

Informational Graphics

The Writing and Language Test includes some passages that are paired with tables, charts, graphs, and other informational graphics. Students will be asked to draw connections between the graphics and the text they accompany. For example, students might need to correct a passage’s inaccurate interpretation of the data presented in a table or to improve the clarity or precision of that interpretation. However, they’ll never need to use mathematical computation to answer the questions.

Sample Questions

Learn about the Writing and Language Test firsthand by viewing sample questions for the redesigned SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and PSAT™ 10. Each assessmentwill include Writing and Language questions that connect to two subscores shared with the Reading Testand two subscores that are unique to the Writing and Language Test.

SAT Essay

The redesigned SAT Essay will assess whether students can demonstrate college and career readiness proficiency in reading, writing, and analysis. The SAT Essay will ask students to demonstrate comprehension of a high-quality source text by producing a cogent and clear written analysis of that text supported by critical reasoning and evidence drawn from the source.

Students will be asked to:

• Read a passage.
• Explain how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience.
• Support their explanation with evidence from the passage.

Important SAT Only: The SAT Essay is available on the SAT, but not on the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or PSAT 8/9.[2]

Quick Facts

• The redesigned SAT Essay closely mirrors common postsecondary writing assignments.
• It will be scored using clearly defined and widely communicated criteria focused on reading, analysis, and writing.
• The source text will change every time the SAT is given, but the task will stay the same.
• Prior topic-specific knowledge is never tested.

Important Changes

The redesigned SAT Essay differs from the essay section on the current SAT in several important ways:

• Students will have 50 minutes to complete their essay — not 25, as is the case on the current SAT.
• Students will no longer be asked to agree or disagree with a position on a topic or to write about their personal experience.
• The SAT Essay will no longer be required of everyone who takes the SAT; individual colleges and universities will determine whether they choose to require SAT Essay scores from prospective students. View college SAT Essay policies.
• The three SAT Essay scores will be reported separately from each other (rather than combined into a single score) and from the other scores on the test.[3]

Passages

All passages are selected from previously published, high-quality sources. Passages will vary each time the test is given, but all will:

• Address a broad audience.
• Convey an argument.
• Express nuanced views on complex subjects.
• Use logical reasoning and various forms of evidence to support substantive claims.
• Examine ideas, debates, trends, and the like in the arts, the sciences, and civic, cultural, and political life.

The passages are carefully chosen to ensure that they are appropriately and consistently complex — challenging enough to assess college and career readiness but not so challenging that they keep students from responding under timed conditions.

Reading, Analysis, Writing

Students’ essays should demonstrate an understanding of the passage and use evidence from the passage to support an effective, well-written analysis of how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience. Students will be instructed to focus their discussion on the passage’s most relevant features. Essays should make purposeful, selective, substantive use of quotations and paraphrases in a way that supports students’ analysis.

Students’ essays are evaluated in terms of reading, analysis, and writing:

Reading: Successful essays demonstrate thorough comprehension of the passage, including the interplay of central ideas and important details, and use textual evidence effectively.

Analysis: Successful essays demonstrate skill in evaluating the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, style, and other stylistic or persuasive techniques and support and develop claims with well-chosen evidence from the passage.

Writing: Successful essays are focused, organized, and precise, with an appropriate style and tone that varies sentence structure and follows the conventions of standard written English.

View Scored Sample Essays

Every SAT Essay will be read by two scorers. Each scorer will award1 to 4 points each in reading, analysis, and writing. Thescores will be combined for a total of 2 to 8 points in each of the three categories.

Essay Scoring

All scorers will read essays using the same set of detailed criteria. These criteria are clearly stated in the rubric, which describes the characteristics shared by essays earning the same score point in each category.

Sample Essays

Learn about the SAT Essay firsthand by viewing two sample essay prompts — each with eight scored responses.

Signing Up for the SAT Essay

Students will be able to sign up for the SAT Essay when they register for the SAT, or in the days leading up to test day. As colleges decide whether to require the SAT Essay, the College Board will post that information online. As always, students should check the websites of the colleges they’re interested in for the latest information.

Students using SAT fee waivers will be able to sign up for the SAT Essay at no cost.

Score Choice

Score ChoiceTM will continue to work as it does today. Consistent with the policies of the schools they are applying to, students who take the SAT more than once may choose which scores to send to colleges. All section scores from a selected date, including the SAT Essay score, will be reported and used in accordance with each school’s stated score-use practices.

Key Content Changes

The SAT Suite of Assessmentsincludes the redesigned SAT and PSAT/NMSQT, as well as the new PSAT10and the PSAT8/9. Tightly aligned, all assessmentsinclude a Reading Test, a Writing and LanguageTest, and a Math Test. The SAT will have an optional essay component, which some colleges will require. Questions throughout the assessments will focus on the few things that research shows matter most for college readiness and success.

Words in Context

Many questions on the redesigned assessments will focus on important, widely used words and phrases found in texts in many different subjects. The focus of these questions will be on determining the meaning or implications of these words and phrases in the contexts in which they are used. This is demanding but rewarding work centered on words and phrases that students use throughout their lives — in high school, college or workforce training, and beyond.

No longer will students use flashcards to memorize obscure words, only to forget them the minute they put their test pencils down. The redesigned exams will engage students in close reading and honor the best work of the classroom.

Command of Evidence

When students take the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing sections of the assessments and the SAT Essay, they’ll be asked to demonstrate their ability to interpret, synthesize, and use evidence found in a wide range of sources. These sources include informational graphics, such as tables, charts, and graphs, as well as multiparagraph passages in the areas of literature and literary nonfiction, the humanities, science, history, and social studies, and on topics about work and careers.

For every passage or pair of passages students read on the Reading Test, at least one question asks them to decide which part of the text best supports the answer to the previous question. In other cases, students will be asked to integrate the information conveyed through words and graphics in order to find the best answer to a question.

Questions on the Writing and Language Test will also focus on command of evidence. Students will be asked, for example, to analyze sequences of sentences or paragraphs to make sure they are logical. In other questions, students will be asked to interpret graphics and to edit a portion of the accompanying passage so that it clearly and accurately conveys the information in the graphics.

The SAT Essay will also require students to demonstrate command of evidence. Students analyze a provided source text to determine how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience through the use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive devices. They're asked to write a cogent and clear analysis supported by critical reasoning and evidence drawn from the source.

Essay Analyzing a Source

The focus of the Essay on the redesigned SAT will be very different from that of the essay on the current SAT. In the new format, students will read a passage and explain how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience. Students may analyze such aspects of the passage as the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and stylistic and persuasive elements. This task more closely mirrors college writing assignments.

The new Essay is designed to support high school students and teachers as they cultivate close reading, careful analysis, and clear writing. It will promote the practice of reading a wide variety of arguments and analyzing how authors do their work as writers.

The Essay prompt will remain consistent; only the source material (passage) will change. The Essay will be an optional component of the SAT, although some school districts and colleges may require it. The SAT is the only assessment in the SAT Suite that includes the Essay. Learn more about the Essay.