英文写作专家Dr. Joe对于ＳＡＴ作文改革的看法

SAT Redesigned—What Does It Mean?

Dr. Joe

In the last few days, the parents, the students, and the thousands of educational professionals throughout the United States (and the world) have been twittering with excitement and anxiety about the most critical changes ever of SAT since 2005, the year when the so called “New SAT” was introduced.

The test format of SAT has been varying, is varying, and will be varying. While online education and mobile learning are penetrating each and every single nook of our lives, we should applaud with true heart the College Board and Khan Academy for redressing the erroneous direction American education is galloping in. On the current problematic road, the poor but brilliant young souls have to face the unbearable financial burdens the rich youngsters probably can’t even understand, and all high schoolers will endure the nerve-racking emotional struggles and psychological tortures. Perhaps the only winners are the test prep companies, who care much less about the students’ long-term good.

The new SAT essay will allow the test taker 50 minutes instead of the present 25 minutes, which means it will be more demanding and more important. Although the separately scored portion will be optional, that NEVER means the essay is just an unnecessary luxury. According to collegeboard.org, “The essay will measure students' ability to analyze evidence and explain how an author builds an argument to persuade an audience. Responses will be evaluated based on the strength of the analysis as well as the coherence of the writing.”  Sounds familiar? Yes, that’s exactly what the college education demands of the prospective students. Apparently, the admission officers of American colleges will take it much more seriously than the current SAT essay due to the reinvented writing requirement oriented to the true higher education.

On April 16, 2014，the College Board will share the complete specifications of the exam. The details of the new game are still to be updated in the next two years. So let’s wait for the dust settled. 

全新SAT的含义

英文原文作者：Dr. Joe

中文翻译：mimangzhong

 

过去几天，美国各地的（以及全世界的）家长、学生和成千上万的教育专业人士都在兴奋与不安中纷纷议论着SAT自2005年以来最关键的改变，正是在那一年所谓的“新SAT”产生了。

SAT的考试设计一直在变化，正在变化，并将继续变化。网上教育和移动学习正在日益渗透进我们生活的每一个角落，而美国教育正在沿着错误的方向飞奔，我们应该真心赞赏College Board和Khan Academy对于这个歧路的纠正。在目前问题成山的道路上，贫穷但杰出的年轻人必须面对难以承受的财务负担（而富裕的学生可能却难以理解这种负担），以此同时所有的高中生都要忍受恼人的情感斗争和心理折磨。也许唯一的赢家是那些应考公司，当然他们是不在乎学生的长远发展的。

新的SAT短文将给考生50分钟而不是目前的25分钟，这意味着它的要求更高，也更重要。尽管短文部分会单独打分并且是选作的，这绝不意味着它只是一个不关紧要的奢侈品。根据collegeboard.org网上的信息，“短文将测验学生分析证据的能力以及解释作者怎样建立论点说服受众的能力。对于答案的评价将基于分析的力度还有写作的连贯性与条理性。”听起来很熟悉是吗？对！因为这恰恰是大学教育对未来学生的要求所在。很明显相对于现在的SAT短文来说，美国大学的招生官员们将对改革后的短文重视得多的多，这是因为重新设计的写作要求正是针对了真实的高等教育。

2014年的4月16日，College Board将公开SAT考试完整的规范内容；在未来的两年内，新游戏的细节会不断更新。让我们拭目以待尘埃落定。