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U.S. students will take the SAT online

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Re: U.S. students will take the SAT online

#91

Post by goryramsy »

gnicholas wrote: post #35
null0ranje wrote: post #2

This sounds more about cuttings costs than anything else.

How does this cut costs? I would think they'll be spending a ton on online security and such. Imagine the fallout if this is hacked or goes down on test day. They will save some money on proctoring, since the exam is much shorter in duration.

It would not surprise me if the test was delayed last minute due to a security issue. I've seen firsthand the level of security in the testing application, and it is worryingly lacking. Did you know that they literally link 'desmos.com/calculator' as the calculator in the math section? That's opening the door to all sorts of security issues. And they're certainly saving money, the digital is the same cost as the paper[1].

[1] https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/help-center/students/p...

Re: U.S. students will take the SAT online

#92

Post by saagarjha »

dylan604 wrote: post #83
saagarjha wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see how this is any different from a normal test? If you skip a question or get it wrong the penalty is you don’t get any points for it.

As stated: "You were awarded +5 for correct answers and -4 for incorrect or skipped questions." Answer question 1 correctly: +5 Skip question 2: -4 Answer question 3 correctly: +5 Net score: +6 If skipped were just ignored, the net score would be +10.

Interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a test like that. What was it?

Re: U.S. students will take the SAT online

#93

Post by dylan604 »

saagarjha wrote: post #92
dylan604 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As stated: "You were awarded +5 for correct answers and -4 for incorrect or skipped questions." Answer question 1 correctly: +5 Skip question 2: -4 Answer question 3 correctly: +5 Net score: +6 If skipped were just ignored, the net score would be +10.

Interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a test like that. What was it?

Again, as stated: "Some of the math competitions"

Don't know how wide spread they are in other states, but it was part of the UIL Academics teams as statewide competition between school districts in Texas.

Re: U.S. students will take the SAT online

#94

Post by gnicholas »

goryramsy wrote: post #90
gnicholas wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How will this devalue the test? The only way in which the test is easier is that it's shorter, so students who lose steam toward the end will perform somewhat better. But this shorter test is dynamic, so it will still be able to assess students fairly, at all levels. In truth, it could even open the door to allowing for a higher ceiling, by offering even harder questions to students who score super well on earlier po…

Would not 'losing steam' on a long test be indicative of motivation and also be part of the test? Remember, the test is a lot more than the questions; the test is also about pacing and focus.

There is something to be said for endurance, and I admit that the new test will not test endurance as much. But I think most people don't think of the primary role of the SAT as an endurance test.

When I was in HS, we had IB tests that were much longer, and were seen as grueling tests of endurance. And after law school, I took the CA bar exam, which was at the time the only 3-day bar exam. It was (in)famous for endurance.

But do people think the SAT is measuring endurance? I don't, but perhaps others do.

One thing that won't change is any effect on pacing. The SAT previously had sections, and it will continue to have sections. You still have to pace yourself through each section. But there was never a way to pace yourself across sections, through the entire test. You had to wait until one section was done before starting the next.

Re: U.S. students will take the SAT online

#95

Post by gnicholas »

goryramsy wrote: post #87
gnicholas wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what you're saying is someone could record their screen the entire time, with no one the wiser? It would be tricky to use any external programs because the Bluebook app might be able to detect that it's not in focus, and other students/proctors could see something else on the screen.

Yes. A virtual machine specifically bypasses any on-device protections, protections which the terms of service indicate they have. However, I think the primary deterrent to cheating here would be as you mentioned the proctor and the other students. To get around this, I theorize a more subtle overlay could be fashioned (imagine some sort of screen reader that speaks chatGPT-generated answers through the provided earb…

If this is (and remains) true, I would guess that someone will build it and sell it to others. There are enough people out there who will never get above a 1200 — with any amount of studying/coaching — and who would happily pay $2k for a guaranteed 1500+. You wouldn't even need an LLM, really. Just a cellular-enabled laptop that can take screenshots every few seconds and transmit them to a confederate who whispers in your ear. Or to be even less detectable, just faintly displays a letter at the bottom of the screen once the problem has been solved.

Re: U.S. students will take the SAT online

#97

Post by pvg »

ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #77
saagarjha wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not think people who score highly today could not take the test from the past and do well?

Theres clearly a class of people that would do worse on the old tests. You couldnt as easily study for the old tests.

Who is this class of people and what makes it so clear they exist?

Re: U.S. students will take the SAT online

#100

Post by kohbo »

icyfox wrote: post #11

When I took the GRE in 2017, everything was digital as well. But I couldn't believe how locked down the experience was. The testing center in downtown SF had no windows, a metal detector, and you had to check all food outside of the testing room. Just in case you were going to try to cheat off of your banana. I think each computer was also recording a video of you taking the test although I might be mistaken here. Ce…

I agree with your main point but leaving food outside was probably to protect the computers, not the integrity of the test.
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