IN MARCH, the College Board, a nonprofit organization that helps more than 7 million students prepare for the transition to college each year through various programs and services, officially launched the redesigned SAT.

“The College Board is redesigning the SAT to focus on the few things that evidence shows matter most for college and career readiness,” says Zach Goldberg, director of external communications at the College Board. “The redesigned SAT will support the practice of excellent work in our classrooms and the College Board will work with teachers and college faculty to design course frameworks and modules for use in grades 6-12.”

This has been the first major change to the test since 2005. The redesign incorporates eight major changes:

• Students are now tested on vocabulary words used in context, rather than simply memorizing the meaning of a word.

• Students now have to demonstrate command of evidence. For example, interpreting graphs and making sure the accompanying passages of text accurately represent the information in the graphs.

• The essay portion is optional, although some districts and colleges require it. In the new essay portion, students read a passage and explain how the author builds his or her argument.

• The new test focuses on three essential areas of math: Problem Solving and Data Analysis, the Heart of Algebra, and Passport to Advanced Math. Questions are grounded in the real world.

• Problems in both the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section and the Math section are also grounded in real-world contexts.

• The redesigned test requires students to apply their reading, writing, language and math skills to answer questions in science, history, and social studies contexts.

• Included in the new test is a passage from one of the country’s founding documents (for example, the Declaration of Independence), or text pulled from the global conversation.

• There is no penalty for wrong answers. Students earn points for each question they answer correctly. The redesigned test is scored on a point scale of 400 to 1,600.

“Our goal is to support college readiness and success for more students and to make sure that those who are prepared take full advantage of the opportunities they’ve earned through their hard work,” Goldberg says. “Because a test alone can’t change student outcomes, assessments such as the SAT must be integrated with rigorous classroom instruction, and through their results, propel students to greater opportunities. The redesigned SAT will reward productive use of classroom time and a focus on rigorous course work.”

The high school graduating class of 2016 was the first to take the new SAT. For those taking the redesigned test, the College Board has provided a full SAT blueprint. Free test preparation is also available. Visit CollegeBoard.org/Delivering-Opportunity/SAT/Practice for more information.