Some students who been the first to take the newly redesigned SAT are speaking out in support of the new test.

Students who spoke to The Washington Post said they feel as if the new test is a better representation of what they are actually learning in school.

The test, which now has made its essay section optional, has eliminated penalties for incorrect answers, and has emphasized evidence-based reading and math problems is getting positive feedback (see a summary of the redesigned test here). 

The test was first distributed this week to schools in "the District of Columbia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, selected New York City schools, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Jose, and in Florida’s Hillsborough and Seminole counties,” said the Post.

“‘I noticed that in the reading, there were a lot more ‘evidence-based’ questions...You would have to find a source from the text to support your answer to the previous question. That was definitely different,’” said 16-year-old Hugo Barrillon to the Post.

"Barrillon said he believed the new test reflected his studies more than the old one.”

But while positive student feedback is certainly a good sign, test-preparation consultant Bruce Reed told the Post that it's the results that matter most.

"It’s a hollow victory if it’s just a test that feels better when you’re taking it,” Reed said, seemingly speaking on the national desire to impose higher college-and-career ready standards.

Still, college admissions faculty are optimistic that the test will be a good thing. 

“‘I believe that the redesigned SAT is on the right path in its transparency and openness, and that it sends the clear signal that if you work hard and achieve, we in higher education will work to open doors for you,’” said Jeremiah Quinlan, dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale to the Post.

Read the full story.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

3/4/2016