05 Sep 2024 Test Changes to the Principal High Stakes Exams: ACT, SAT, LSAT, MCAT
ACT
Starting in April 2025, students who choose to test online will have more flexibility and choice, experience a shorter test, and get more time to respond to each question.
Beginning with the September 2025 test, all students testing on a Saturday, either online or on paper, will experience these benefits.
Schools and districts will have these options starting in spring 2026.
SAT
College Board announced that the SAT® Suite of Assessments will be delivered digitally.
This includes the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, PSAT
Among the changes: the digital SAT will be shorter—about two hours instead of three for the current SAT, with more time per question. The digital test will feature shorter reading passages with one question tied to each, and passages will reflect a wider range of topics that represent the works students read in college. Calculators will be allowed on the entire Math section. Students and educators will get scores back in days, instead of weeks. And, to reflect the range of paths that students take after high school, digital SAT Suite score reports will also connect students to information and resources about local two-year college, workforce training programs, and career options. Reference: Collegeboard.org
LSAT
Starting with the August 2024 LSAT, the multiple-choice portion of the test will consist of two scored Logical Reasoning sections and one scored Reading Comprehension section, plus one unscored section of either Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension.
Reference: Lsac.org
MCAT
In 2024, the MCAT test duration is 6 hours and 15 minutes excluding breaks. There are four MCAT sections, each lasting 90-95 minutes, with optional breaks between. You will have two 10-minute breaks and one 30-minute lunch break between sections. If you choose to take breaks between each section, the total MCAT testing time can be up to 7.5 hours.
MCAT Sections and Subjects
The integrated content on the MCAT is broken down into four test sections that comprise the exam and cover the following MCAT subjects:
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
- Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
Even though the four science MCAT subjects cover roughly equal numbers of topics within them, this does not mean that all science topics have equal weight in your final MCAT score. On the MCAT, biology (at 65% of the Bio/Biochem MCAT section) will be by far the most important of the four “classic” MCAT subjects, followed in importance by general chemistry (30% of the Chem/Phys MCAT section); physics (25% of the Chem/Phys MCAT section); and finally organic chemistry (15% of the Chem/Phys MCAT section). Reference Kaptest.com
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