Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

Old SAT or New SAT?

If you are currently a high school junior, you are faced with a decision between taking the old SAT or the new SAT. 

The old SAT has a brief shelf life remaining since the new SAT format will roll out permanently in March. This gives you three opportunities (November, December and January) to book your score with the old test. 


I generally recommend that current juniors focus their prep on the new format since, in all likelihood, you would want to take the test again your senior year to try and improve upon the score from junior year. Thus, if you intend on taking the test again senior year, don’t worry about the old format. Instead, focus on the new format. In fact, you might be familiar with the new format since the PSAT you likely took this past week uses the new format.

Nevertheless, if you have already started to prep for the old format or you feel more comfortable with the old format, there is nothing stopping you from trying to get a good score in the next couple of months. The only risk with this is having to learn a new format should you want to take the test again your senior year. 

In all, the decision is a personal one and it depends on where a student is in their preparation. The following is a very useful resource that can help you figure out which test format is better for you. Check out this link to take a brief test that can help you decide between the old format and the new format. 

If you need further guidance on the old SAT vs the new SAT, please contact CROSSWALK. We are the Monterey Peninsula’s local resource for SAT prep, ACT prep and academic tutoring. 

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

New SAT = Same Ol’ ACT?

The rubber is starting to meet the road for the newly designed PSAT and SAT, i.e. the “SAT Suite of Assessments.” The new PSAT will be launched in the fall and the new SAT rolls out in March 2016.

The College Board does a wonderful job of communicating the changes to the tests in its Counselor Resource Guide to the Redesigned Assessments. This guide is available for free here.

As I review the changes to the new SAT Suite of Assessments, I can’t help but think that the new tests are not that different from the ACT. Consider the following:
  • Gone is the 0.25 point deduction for wrong answers. In its place is the same raw score calculation used for the ACT: one point for a correct answer, no points for a wrong or omitted answer.
  • No more Sentence Completion questions, which were vocabulary-based questions not found on the ACT. 
  • Reading passages including scientific articles, graphs and charts like those found on the ACT. 
  • The new SAT essay score will not factor into the overall score, like the ACT. 
  • The SAT is providing free study resources which the ACT has done all along. 
These are just a few of the changes, but based on these, doesn’t it seem that the SAT is trying to be more like the ACT? 
Additionally, the College Board states that the “ACT test measures skills across a large domain while the redesigned SAT will measure fewer things much more deeply.” 
More specifically, the ACT provides one score based on the composite of four scores (Reading, English, Math, Science) while the new SAT will give one score based on the total of two scores (Reading/Writing and Math). The difference with the new SAT lies in the additional scores the new SAT will provide called cross-test scores, test scores and subscores. For example, a student will receive an overall score and, additionally, a subscore in specific areas, like Problem Solving and Data Analysis.  
As an educator, I see great value in this additional level of data from the new SAT. However, I am skeptical that colleges and universities will look beyond the overall score. If schools focus only on the total score, scoring the new test offers little difference from scoring the old test much less the ACT. 
I applaud the College Board’s effort in making their tests more applicable and productive. Time will tell if the new SAT does a better job at predicting college performance than the old SAT. 
If you need help navigating the waters of the ACT, PSAT and SAT, contact CROSSWALK today. CROSSWALK continues to prepare students for success in academics, standardized test prep and life. Visit www.crosswalkeducation.com to learn more. 
Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

Get a Head Start on Prep for the New SAT

While the changes planned for the new PSAT and SAT were announced some time ago (and posted on this blog last year), there are now more resources available to understand and practice this new format. 

First and foremost, the changes will take place on the PSAT starting in the fall of 2015. As of Spring 2016, the SAT will incorporate the new changes.

What are the new changes? Visit our blog post from last year for an overview. Kaplan also has an outstanding overview of the changes right here.


So how should you prepare for the change? Well, if you are a current sophomore about to head into your junior year, you should get started right away. It is never too early to get practicing. The College Board posted practice questions and practice tests on their website. Download a practice test right here. They have also posted a way to compare the exam formats right here. 

The changes are around the corner and will be here before you know it. Better to get a head start now while you can!

For questions about the PSAT, SAT or ACT, contact CROSSWALK. CROSSWALK is the Monterey County’s local resource for test prep and private tutoring. Skype sessions are also available for those out of town. Find out more by visiting CROSSWALK. 

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

The More Things Change…

Just when you thought you had prepared all you could for the SAT, they had to go ahead and change it up on you. 


But don’t fret. The new changes to the SAT announced by the College Board won’t be put into effect until the spring of 2016. 

And truth be told, many of the changes to the SAT are not too drastic. It seems that the College Board simply wants to align its assessment closer to the work done in both high schools and colleges. 

If you haven’t read the overview of these SAT changes as originally announced in the New York Times, visit this article. For a more condensed version of the same information, here are the major changes coming in two years:

  • Scoring: the penalty for wrong answers is no longer and the score will be scaled out of 1600 like it was prior to 2005
  • Vocabulary: more emphasis will be placed on the vocabulary used in college courses as opposed to those uncommon albeit famous SAT words like “ascetic”
  • Essay: what was obligatory will now be optional
  • Math: content is streamlined to include linear equations, complex equations, functions, ratios, percents and proportions among others and no calculators will be allowed on the test
  • Reading: passages will include excerpts from famous historic texts, like the Declaration of Independence 
Yes, change is in the air and those in the Class of 2017 and beyond will want to take note. 

Get ready for the SAT and ACT with help from CROSSWALK. Boot Camps, private tutoring and study help are all ways that CROSSWALK can lead you on your path to learning success.