Complete Guide to the New SAT in 2016: The Reading Section

College Board released a giant 211-page specification for the redesigned SAT, first coming out in Spring of 2016. ​

​OVERALL CHANGES IN NEW SAT

The College Board has promised that the new SAT test will test skills that are more predictive of success in college and beyond. We find generally that the SAT changes in 2016 accomplish this goal.

Greater Emphasis on Reasoning Skills and Context, Not Skills in Isolation
Historically the SAT has tested skills in isolation. Vocabulary-based questions would basically evaluate whether the student knew the common definition of that word (like "expropriate"). Writing questions would often test a single grammatical rule in a single sentence. Math questions would test a single math concept for a question of limited scope.
Instead, the new SAT emphasizes higher-level logical and reasoning skills. The Reading and Writing questions are now entirely passage-based, giving more opportunities to test a deeper understanding of how the passage is logically constructed and to draw connections between different parts of the passage. The Math section emphasizes more practical, realistic scenarios and introduces multi-step problems.

Fewer Learnable "Tricks"
The SAT has often been criticized for asking deceptive questions and for using tricks to complicate questions. This meant that students who performed well in school may do poorly on the SAT simply because they were unaccustomed to the presentation of questions.
As a result of emphasizing higher-level reasoning, the new SAT features fewer tricks, particularly in the Math and Writing sections. The skills tested are more difficult, but the presentation is more straightforward.

Format Changes

• The SAT is now scored out of 1600.
• The Reading and Writing sections on the current SAT have been combined into a single section in the new SAT, with a maximum score of 800. Writing is now known as "Writing and Language."
• The Math section is still scored out of 800.
• The Essay is optional and has changed dramatically.
• Instead of 5 answer choices for each question, there will be only 4. This doesn't necessarily make the test easier since the SAT will just remove the most unlikely answer.

​​The Reading Section of the New 2016 SAT

Overall Gist of Changes to the Reading Section 

• All questions are now based on passages.
• The subject matter of passages are pre-determined. There's 1 passage concerning US and World Literature, 2 for History/Social Studies, and 2 for Science.
• Some passages will now contain data and require interpretation of data.

Greater emphasis on: 
vocabulary in context; command of evidence; constructing logical arguments; scientific reasoning.
Lesser emphasis on:
difficult vocabulary and vocabulary in isolation.

Reading Questions You'll Never See Again
Sentence Completions: 
These questions often tested more difficult vocabulary, and it was difficult to answer correctly without knowing the definition of the word. 

New Reading Question Types
Evidence Support Questions: 
For the first time, the SAT Reading section will have questions that build on each other. The student will be prompted to answer a question about the passage - for example, the author's tone or stance on a topic - and in the next question be asked to cite evidence for the answer in the previous question. Here's an example:

​The actual passage can be found on page 88 of the SAT specifications. This type of question builds on the SAT's desire to move toward higher-level reasoning skills. The student will need to support his or her answer with evidence from the passage.

Data Reasoning Questions: 
For the first time, the SAT Reading section will include figures that show data. The student will need to interpret the data in the figure and place it in the context of the overall passage - for example, how does this figure support the author's argument?

This type of data analysis and graph reading has never before been tested on the Reading section of the SAT. Especially tricky questions will likely be inference questions - for example, "the author is least likely to support which interpretation of the data in this figure?"
​
Student Study Tips for the New Reading Section:

• Because the passages now test higher-level reasoning and ask you to analyze arguments, reading real-world examples will be helpful like never before. Understanding and deconstructing pieces from well-written publications like the New York Times will help your understanding of how effective arguments are made.
• The new science passages will not be heavily focused on science. You won't need to know any formulas. You will have to know how to read graphs and understand their relevance.
• Evidence Support questions are double-edged swords. Because they’re intertwined, they can be an opportunity to check your thinking - if you can't find evidence that supports your answer to the first question, you can catch your mistake. However you can bet that the SAT will also try to lead you astray - if you pick a wrong answer to the first question, they'll give you a corresponding wrong answer on the second question.
• Personal biases have always been a common cause of mistakes on the SAT. Your job isn't to interpret the passages, it's to find the answer within the passage. But because the passages are now more relevant to real life and will draw from recent examples, you now need to be in greater control of your personal biases. The SAT will always try not to be controversial but you'll be more at risk for personal bias. 

Source: PrepScholar