SAT Format Change Affecting Prep Courses

The new SAT format is launching in the spring and students are starting to prepare for key changes that might take a toll on their test scores. Rather than seeing an influx of students in test prep courses, many are actually choosing to avoid the SAT altogether by taking the ACT according to Best in Class Education Center CEO and Chairman Hao Lam.

“In the past in the Katy location we have seen probably seen an 80/20 if not an 85/15 ratio for the SAT as opposed to ACT, but more and more people have started wanting to try the ACT, especially the last few years,” Lam told The Katy Rancher.

The reformatted SAT will actually be more similar to the ACT as it now focuses on common-core curriculum. For students who have taken the test previously, the sudden shift in focus for preparing for college could potentially leave them unprepared.

“They do not like the new SAT because no one wants to be guinea pig and there are not a lot of test prep options out there,” Lam said.

The final round of the current SAT format will conclude in January 2015 and the new SAT will be distributed in March 2016.