On March 2 high school students around the state will take out their number two pencils, buckle down and take the three hour SAT. They are the first group of students to take the newly revamped SAT.

What to Do on Test Day:

Arrive on time for school and report to your test room by 7:20am. Test room assignments can be found in the main lobby.

The test ends at 12:43pm After the test juniors will report to the cafeteria where lunch can be purchased. Do not wander the school after testing as it is still a normal school day for the rest of the school.

You are not allowed to leave the school early without permission from your parents.

What to bring:

Picture ID: It can be in the form of a driver’s license, passport, or school ID card.

Admission slip: The school already has this and will give them out the day of the test.

Calculator: Calculators are allowed for the math portion of the test, but no calculators that can connect to the Internet are allowed. This includes calculator apps on smartphones.

Pencils: It is suggested that you bring multiple number two pencils with you. Mechanical pencils of all kinds are not allowed.

Snacks and drinks: Snacks and drinks are allowed. You will have breaks in testing when you can stretch, eat, and drink. Lunch can also be brought after the test, but during the test you are not allowed to go the cafeteria and buy food.

What not to bring:

Cell phones: Cell phones are not allowed in the testing room at all. They must be left in your locker. If you are caught with a cell phone or it goes off in your bag you will not be allowed to continue taking the test and your scores will be dismissed as well as your cell phone being confiscated.

Books and papers: No books or reference material is allowed. If you finish the test early you are not allowed to take out a book, IPod or other school work. Instead you must sit quietly and wait for the next part of the test. You also may not bring any of your own scratch paper with you.

Electronic devices: No electronic devices are allowed in the testing room. This includes IPods, IPads, smart watches, and e-readers, and cameras. You may not bring any separate timers either.

Pens: Only bring with you the number two pencils that you need to take the test. Do not bring other writing utensils including colored pencils, pens, or highlighters. You also may not bring compasses, rulers, or protractors.

Earbuds: Headphones and earplugs are not allowed.

What’s changed?

The SAT’s scoring, content, and format have all changed from last years test.

Scoring

The old SAT scoring system awarded points for right answers and penalized wrong ones. Guessing was not encouraged as wrong answers lowed scores and leaving questions blank did not. The new SAT does not subtract points for wrong answers, only adds points for right ones.

The new SAT is scored out of 1600 not including the optional essay. There are a total of 800 points possible in the evidence based reading and writing section and 800 total points in the math section.

Content

There are two sections of the new SAT and an optional essay portion. The first two sections, math and evidence based reading, are allotted three hours of work time and test takers have 50 minutes to write the essay. As a school, the administration has decided all juniors will take the essay portion.

Format

Besides the additional essay the format of the SAT is very similar to the new PSAT students took in October.

How to prepare:

The SAT is not a test you can traditionally study for. That does not mean you can’t prepare for the test however. Getting a good night sleep and eating a nutritious breakfast will help you be ready to sit for the test. Cramming the night before will not work for this type of test. The SAT tests what you already know and while getting used to the format and the time limit of the test will help, there is not much you can study for in the traditional sense.

Practicing the essay portion will help feel confident when test day comes. There are many websites that offer practice essays as well as SAT practice books to help you practice in the same format as the real essay. College board and Khan Academy offer practice questions to help you know what types of questions you can expect and explanations of the answers.

However, the night before the test is not the time to start freaking out and staying up late to study. The SAT is an important test but it is not the end all be all of your high school portfolio. There is still another chance to improve scores next year and colleges look at many factors besides SAT.