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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Starting
today, the SAT, the Standardized
College Admissions Test is

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going fully digital. The test
once known for its number two
pencils and fill in the bubble

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answer sheets will no longer
be offered on paper. It's
part of a larger redesign

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meant to make the test more
accessible and fair, even
as colleges and universities

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around the country have
increasingly made the test
optional for applicants.

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The change is renewing
debate over the role that
tests should play and
admissions. Nadra Nittle,

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Education reporter for the
19th News joins me to discuss.
Nadra, thanks so much for

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talking to us. What exactly
is changing for students who
are taking the test today?

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NADRA NITTLE, The 19TH
News: So as you mentioned,
the SAT is going digital
in the United States

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for the first time, it
actually went digital
internationally last year,

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but for U.S. students, this
will be a new experience.
The test will also be about

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an hour shorter than the
pencil and paper version. And
it will be adaptive meaning

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that the question students
get answered, depend on how
well they do at the outset.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Why
did the College Board

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the nonprofit that runs sa
t programs make this change?

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NADRA NITTLE: Well, I
think one of the reasons
is just, you know, young
people today, teenagers,

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they're digital natives. So this
will be very familiar to a lot
of them changing this format,

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and the paper version was
considered outdated. Some
of my sources told me

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that they also think this is
a way to make the test more
attractive as colleges and

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universities increasingly
make it an optional
admissions requirement.

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So by making it shorter,
making it digital, even
making it adaptive,

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or always to make it more
attractive to students.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Do
these changes do anything
to address some of the

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long standing complaints
about the SAT that it
plays into inequities,

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especially for girls,
students of color and
low income students?

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NADRA NITTLE: So I've
heard some mixed responses
from my sources about this
topic, there really is

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nothing necessarily in
the test in terms of the
questions you would get
asked that would make it,

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I guess, easier or narrow the
gaps for some students in terms
of their performance, but some

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people think even just by
making it shorter, that
might help students with
learning differences.

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Even by making it adaptive,
you know, some of my
sources think that can
make students less anxious,

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and that can improve
their scores. In terms of
gender, race, and you know,

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some of the other gaps, we
just don't know, my expert
sources are waiting to get data,

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which they probably won't
have enough of until next
year to really look at the

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subgroups and how subgroups
performed on the test.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So
overall, are your sources
telling you that this digital

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tests may give some students
a leg up or may be a
disadvantage to others?

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NADRA NITTLE: So some
are saying, you know,
especially with students
for learning differences,

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just by making it shorter,
just by having adaptive, you
know, questions, instead of

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giving everyone the same
questions that that could
be helpful. But some of
my other sources who have

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been long term critics of
the SAT don't think this
test is really going to
do anything different.

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They think it's the same
test, it's just a little
shorter, and now it's
digital instead of on paper.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ:
Disadvantage, low income
students may not be

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able to afford extracurriculars,
or coaching on college essays,

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things that could help them
overall boost their college
admission applications.

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And so is there a concern that
with making the SAT optional,

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which some universities have
done that that could hurt
those low income students?

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NADRA NITTLE: Some of
the SAT supporters are
arguing that, hey, if a
student from an, you know,

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socio economically disadvantaged
background happens to take the
SATs, and does really well on

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it, that student might
qualify for scholarships.
They also might qualify
for admission at an

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elite institution that maybe
just by grades alone, they
wouldn't have been admitted to.

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So there's an attitude of, you
know, why not just take the
test, see if you do well on it,

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and if you do submit the scores.
The other thing is during the
pandemic, when the test optional

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movement really started to
gain ground. A lot of students
who were applying to Ivy

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League institutions and
other elite institutions
were still turning in
their test scores anyway.

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So by making it now a
requirement again, some of

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my sources believe they actually
are leveling the playing field.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The SAT as
you know, used to be mandatory
for first year applications.

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That number dropped during
the pandemic and now
schools are returning to
that requirement. And but

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others aren't. So, is the
SATs still an important
part of college admissions?

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NADRA NITTLE: I definitely think
it's still an important part
especially for those, you know,

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the top tier students who are
really trying to get into the
best schools in the country at

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the same time. According to one
advocacy group called fair test,
only 20 percent of colleges

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are requiring the SAT, so
more than 80 percent of
colleges and universities
still do not have it as

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a requirement. It's test
optional and they think
that the test optional
movement is here to stay.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Nadra
Nittle of the 19th News.
Thank you for joining.

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NADRA NITTLE: Thanks
for having me.