The SAT has always been taken on paper. Even during the pandemic, students were herded into the two gyms to take it. Starting in 2024, Collegeboard announced that the SATs will go completely digital, taken on tablets and computers at testing centers. Many have mixed feelings about that.

The reason The College Board decided to make the tests digital is because of the increasing number of colleges and universities that no longer require students to submit SAT scores for admission. The College Board is losing profit due to the number of students that decide not to take the SAT. Going digital will make the test cheaper to administer, which will raise profits. 

Some believe the test will be easier to take. 

“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” College Readiness Assessments vice president Priscilla Rodriguez said, on the CollegeBoard Newsroom on Jan. 25.

Others think it would be more difficult. 

“I don’t like testing on the computer because it will hurt my eyes,” sophomore Maya Rivera says. “I like writing on paper more.”

The digital test includes changes to the test structure and time. The test will be shortened by an hour, so instead of 3 hours, the test will be 2 hours. Shorter reading passages with one question per passage will be implemented, and it will cover a broader range of topics. Calculator usage will be allowed in both sections of the math test, not just one. Scores will be delivered faster, since tests will be easier to grade and tests won’t get lost in the mail.

Students that have taken the SAT already aren’t so happy.

“I would have liked taking it digitally with the shorter reading passages,” senior Maryjane Villarreal says. 

Some believe they could have gotten a higher score.

“I think I could have gotten a higher score with the shorter passages and reduced testing time since it wouldn’t be as tiring,” Villarreal says.

Some don’t think so.

“I don’t think it makes much of a difference,” GO Center Julieta Rodriguez says.