The Renewed SAT

The SAT is the second most taken test in the nation, under the ACT... and that is the reason they are making changes. The economic success of an academic company should not be the only reason for modifying a standardized test. Are the improvements truly beneficial though? They want it to be more similar to the ACT, so they are making the writing optional. "Many never figured the score into the admission decision and looked at the actual essays only rarely." Are admission offices the only opinions that are honest? Even though their decisions are the ones that affect our futures, it is always helpful to get feedback on a student's writing from multiple people. Also, writing is a main focus in the business world. Professionals constantly send emails, create proposals, and talk (a verbal essay).  It will always stay a top priority to be able to communicate on paper, so taking it away is doing nothing but hurting the future generation. David Coleman, College Board president, insists too that wealthy students can more easily succeed on standardized tests because they can afford classes to learn tricks on how to quicker answer questions; however, this is not the case. Taking classes is not the only way to prepare oneself better. There are free websites, apps, and numerous books to aid in a student's success. It only takes effort and desire to do well on these national tests. Although there are positive alterations being made to the SAT such as choosing more commonly used vocabulary and adding a science passage in the reading, not all of their transformations will benefit the students.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/education/major-changes-in-sat-announced-by-college-board.html?_r=0