Beyond Assessment: Delivering Opportunity - PSAT/SAT Benchmarks and 8 Key Changes

Sep 14, 2026

The material outlines the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark and highlights participation and attainment rates, including overall and subgroup percentages. It presents the College Board Readiness & Success System positioning to give students clearer pathways through high school, college, and career via partnerships for students, educators, and states or districts. It then describes the redesigned SAT and lists eight key changes covering reading and writing demands, close reading and evidence use, interpretation of context, vocabulary mastery, and sample item formats for sentence completion and writing/language context questions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Beyond Assessment: Delivering Opportunity

SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark Results

The College Board Readiness & Success System

About the Redesigned SAT

8 Key Changes to the SAT

Reading and Writing Skills Focus

Sample Item Examples

© 2015 The College Beyond Assessment: Delivering Opportunity The Class of 2014 and the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark ► 42.6% of SAT takers met the benchmark ► 15.8% of African American SAT takers met the benchmark ► 23.4% of Hispanic SAT takers met the benchmark ► 33.5% of Native American SAT takers met the benchmark © 2015 The College Board The College Board Readiness & Success System Beyond tests . More opportunities . Easier for students to navigate a path through high school, college and career Extraordinary, exclusive partnerships that deliver unprecedented benefits to students, educators, and states/districts © 2015 The College Board About the Redesigned SAT *Please note: All time limits are tentative and subject to research. © 2015 The College Board 8 Key Changes to the SAT © 2015 The College Board 8 Key Changes to the SAT Students will need to: Interpret meaning based on context Master relevant vocabulary Engage in close reading © 2015 The College Board Current SAT Example: Sentence Completions Some fans feel that sports events are _____ only when the competitors are of equal ability, making the outcome of the game ________ . (A) successful . . assured (B) boring . . questionable (C) dull . . foreseen (D) interesting . . predictable (E) exciting . . uncertain © 2015 The College Board Redesigned SAT Sample Item: Relevant Words in Context (Writing & Language Test) © 2015 The College Board 8 Key Changes to the SAT Students will be asked to: Interpret, synthesize, and use evidence found in a wide range of sources Support the answers they choose Integrate information conveyed through both reading passages and informational graphics © 2015 The College Board 8 Key Changes to the SAT The redesigned essay will: More closely mirror college writing assignments Cultivate close reading, careful analysis, and clear writing Promote the practice of reading a wide variety of arguments and analyzing an author’s work © 2015 The College Board

FAQs

What does the document report about the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark?

It provides benchmark attainment rates for SAT takers overall and for multiple demographic groups, showing the percentages meeting the benchmark.

What is the College Board Readiness & Success System intended to do?

It aims to make students’ routes through high school, college, and career easier to navigate, supported by partnerships designed to benefit students, educators, and states or districts.

Which skills are emphasized in the redesigned SAT?

Students are expected to interpret meaning from context, master relevant vocabulary, engage in close reading, use and support answers with evidence, and integrate information from both reading passages and informational graphics.

Sep 14, 2026

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