High school students took a new-school version of the SAT on Saturday - one that is an hour shorter, features briefer reading passages and is conducted entirely online.
The changes to the exam are intended to make it easier to grade while hindering would-be cheaters. High school students also reportedly prefer the digital test, which is more reflective of their education in a post-COVID-19 world.
"Today's students, they do a lot of their living digitally, they do a lot of their learning digitally and they do a lot of their test-taking digitally," Priscilla Rodriguez, the vice-president of College Readiness Assessments for the College Board told NPR.
"They were kind of telling us in so many words, 'You're a little behind us at this point, actually. Can you please catch up?'"
The new SAT is also adaptive - with the exam's reading and math components split into two sections. Students who score better on the first section are then given a more challenging set of questions on the second portion of the exam. The College Board has said, however, that students who are given an easier set of questions will not have their scores penalized, CNN reported.
Students who took the exam on Saturday had the option of bringing their personal laptops or using devices provided by their schools.
High school junior Matthew Schmitt told the New York Times that there were some technical issues with getting everyone online but that he preferred being able to "work more at your own pace."
The online test also included a digital graphing calculator and highlighter - though 15-year-old Liba Safa told the outlet that she brought her own calculator because she was concerned that the online version might feel too unfamiliar.
The teen told the newspaper that she was initially concerned about the new format because she'd previously taken the test on paper.
"To be honest? It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," she said. "I feel like I probably did better this time."
Her sentiments were echoed by other students, who said they preferred the new format despite the learning curve associated with switching from pen-and-paper to digital.
"I got more questions done online," 18-year-old Elijah McGlory told the New York Times, adding the digital test was "way better" than the old format.
"It's here to stay," Atlanta student Harvey Joiner told the outlet. "Computers are what we're more comfortable with."
