Starting in 2023 College Board’s SAT test will be conducted virtually for international students, and for U.S. students by 2024. The test will shorten from three to two hours, include smaller passages, and only a calculator math section.
Abandoning the old fashioned paper and pencils, students will now arrive at testing centers with the option of using their own device, or one provided for the test.
“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” Priscilla Rodriguez of the College Board told NPR. “With input from educators and students, we are adapting to ensure we continue to meet their evolving needs.”
College Board has had to adapt their testing during the pandemic, such as their shortened, online AP Exams administered in 2020. Online testing was previously scrapped, as students have the capability  to access the internet while testing, as well as Wi-Fi and connection struggles interfering with students’ ability to take the tests.
The SAT and ACT themselves have been criticized for poorly demonstrating true academic ability, and have become of less importance in the college admissions process. California has removed test scores from the application process entirely. According to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, over 1,800 colleges did not require test scores for applications for the fall of 2022, and at least 1,400 of those plan to continue this practice in 2023.

College Board’s new SAT format may be to alleviate testing stress during the pandemic, but also to stay a prominent part of the American college application process. As more and more schools abandon the consideration of exam scores, the SAT has lost credibility.

This is not the first time College Board has adapted their tests, though. In 2014 College Board dropped adding penalties for wrong answers on the SAT, rid of the obscure vocabulary section, and made the essay portion optional. Recently in 2021, College Board announced they are removing the essay section, as well as subject tests.
The SAT may fade out of the college application process, or come back stronger with its new virtual format. Either way, high school students will have a more efficient and streamlined testing experience.