The Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, is now scheduled to take a turn to digital form by 2024. SATs have been around since 1926 and are used to determine what colleges students can get into. 

These tests are changing to online because they are said to be less stressful and more relevant to certain subjects. Along with going digital, the SATs will also experience some other changes, including a “shortened test day… authorized use of calculators,” and “Expedited score results” according to U.S. News. 

When college sophomore student Molly Gordon was asked if online SATs, shorter testing periods, and permitted use of calculators would be less stressful, she responded with, “It depends on the person, but for the most part, I would say yes. I’m assuming shorter testing periods means fewer questions, too, so overall, yes.” 

Also, after being asked if expedited test results would have been more relevant for her, Gordon responded with, “We got our results back within the month, and I took it in October of 2019, so we got our results back late October, early November. I think expedited results would’ve been more relevant during that time because I knew how important the test was, and college applications were opening up, and I was very worried my results would say I wasn’t college-ready because I definitely didn’t feel like I was ready.” The new testing rules include the results being given in a couple of days, rather than multiple weeks.

There are some cons to the new testing, though. Some problems could include computer malfunctions or cybersecurity. Also, students could have “… trouble navigating back to previous questions…” according to edtechmagazine.com.

When asked if she would prefer online SATs to paper, Molly responded with, “No, probably not because for a bigger test like that, I like to have it all in front of me. If I wanted to skip a question and come back, it’s way easier to do that on paper.” 

It has also been noted that all U.S. colleges are going to take the SATs fully digital as of 2024, but students that will take the test internationally will have it go digital by 2023, as U.S. News states. 

The new SAT testing is scheduled to be put into action in 2023-24 and will affect the way students prepare and study for this exam, considering the new rules and procedures that have been put in place. 

This article originally appeared in The Matador Messenger