The SAT will be “adaptive,” which means that students will all start with the same set of questions on the first section of math and reading. But their second section will be different, based on how well they did on the first. (There will be two sections each of math and reading.)

Those who get many wrong will get easier questions; those who get many right will be asked harder questions.

“The point of the adaptation system is honestly to be able to administer a shorter test with as much score accuracy as a longer one,” said Jim Addeo, owner of Prowess Test Prep in Albany.

He’s comfortable with the concept of adaptive tests. The GRE, which is often taken to get into master’s programs, has been adaptive since 2011.

However, he suspects the digital SAT might be a little easier because the test will take only two hours.

“I’m thinking for the math it will make very little difference. I don’t think endurance is the primary driver of the score,” he said. “I think in reading — there’s considerably less reading overall. Perhaps some students who would have scored lower on the old test might score higher. I notice a lot of students struggle with endurance in reading.”

On the paper version of the SAT, students had to read five “long” passages, each of which was at least one page. After each passage, they had to answer questions about what they read.

“For a long passage in the old test, you might have to hold together four main ideas and subdetails on each,” Addeo said.
The digital test has about 20 short passages. That could make comprehension questions easier, he said.

“Because you’re not holding in mind multiple concepts at one time,” he said. “Just the fact that the new one is shorter and choppier — you’re not maintaining the same stream of concentration through one topic.”

In math, he has one concern about digital tests.

“Let’s say there’s a geometric figure that’s kind of complicated. On the old test, you could draw on top of it. On the new test you’d have to resketch it, probably with less accuracy,” he said. “If there’s a data table, you want to circle a portion of it. Hands down, I still wish it were a paper exam.”

But the students he coaches don’t seem to mind the change.

“I’m not seeing nearly as much apprehension among students as I am among parents,” he said. “I think the greatest fear about the switch to digital is actually in the minds of parents who feel they would be uncomfortable. The high school students now are a different breed in terms of comfort level with screens and digital.”

The first digital SAT exam in the United States will be administered on March 9. International students taking the exam in other countries have been taking this version of the test for a year.

This is the third major change in the SAT in this century. From 2006 to 2015, the SAT included a writing section with 800 points, for a total top score of 2400. In 2016, the writing section was dropped, returning the test to a 1600 top score. The SAT is still required or encouraged in many college applications, though some institutions are moving to consider other indications of college readiness.