As of last year, Connecticut made the decision to administer the in-school SAT online, but juniors have conflicting opinions as to whether they prefer the test online or on paper.

Juniors took the online SAT the morning of March 23. This is the second year that students took the in-school SAT online; however, testing sites outside of the school administered one are still given on paper. This discrepancy has resulted in conflicted student feelings.

“It is kind of confusing to take the in school SAT on a computer when it is on paper at the other testing sites I have been to throughout this year,” Tessa Tobias ’24 said.

Taking the online SAT at Staples is an advantage for the students who prefer it since weekend sites still administer them on paper. They appreciate the online features such as highlighting certain passages of the text relating to the English and reading questions. 

“I liked the digital SAT better because it highlighted the quotes and words for you instead of making you search for them,” Maggie Montoya ’24 said. “I also liked the timer in the corner so you knew exactly how much time you have left.”

However, many students are frustrated by the decision to have the school-administered SAT online because of the amount of screen time. 

“I don’t think it was a good idea for us to take it on the computer,” Benjamin Enos ’24 said. “I understand that during Covid it made sense, but staring at this screen for hours while doing something that nobody wants to do is a terrible idea.”

This form of testing is also an adjustment for teachers. The online SAT is making students and teachers change their typical ways of going about standardized testing. 

“From a teacher’s perspective it’s a change in how we administer the SAT,” math teacher Philip Abraham said. “Human nature causes us to be resistant to change, which is why I think a lot of teachers are frustrated with the new format, but overall it makes it much more streamlined version of testing.”

Other students enjoy having physical paper to jot down notes and work out the solutions to the questions. While there is scrap paper for the online test, some students find it confusing and time consuming to have to rewrite math problems in order to find an answer. Tobias prefers to have the paper booklet when taking the SAT because she finds it most beneficial when completing the test.

“Taking the SAT online is kind of difficult because you are juggling between your computer and scrap paper when taking the test,” Tobias said. “I prefer when it is on paper because everything is in one place, so it is more organized.”