[원스탑프렙 | 인터뷰] Digital SAT, 어떻게 준비하나

College Board가 2023년 3월 국제 SAT 시험부터 디지털 형식으로 변경하겠다고 발표했습니다. Digital SAT가 시행되면 시험 시간, 지문 길이 등 기존 SAT와 응시 환경이 달라질 예정입니다.

올해 3월 시험에서 1,550점 이상의 고득점자를 다수 배출한 OSP 또한 달라지는 SAT에 철저하게 대비할 수 있도록 준비하고 있습니다. SAT 출제 경향을 철저하게 분석하여 실제 시험 난이도와 0.4% 이내 오차범위를 자랑하는 Diagnostic Test 개발 노하우를 토대로 바뀐 응시 환경에서도 학생들이 최고의 성적을 낼 수 있도록 발 빠르게 움직이고 있는데요.

올여름 시험 고득점 준비를 원하는 학생 및 학부모님들을 위해 OSP Academic 팀장이 말하는 시험 전망 및 준비 팁을 전해드립니다.

Q. 이번 3월 SAT 시험에서 1,550점 이상의 고득점자를 다수 배출한 OSP만의 티칭 방식과 비결은 무엇인가요?

At OSP, we push our students up through every stage, and if you look at students at the very top, they didn’t all just get good overnight. Once you’ve built a solid foundation of literacy and math skills, you need to master every strategy, apply every time-saving technique, and track down every insight that can be squeezed from practice all of which our program and our teachers offer here at OSP.

Q. 내년부터 SAT가 digital 형식으로 변경됩니다. Digital SAT를 어떻게 준비하면 좋을까요?

My answer to the question is that being ready for the digital SAT is not too different from being ready for the current one. Mostly your score is going to depend more on the skills that are tested and less on the form. Nevertheless, there are two big changes: one with the interface, and another with the structure. However, the types of questions that are asked, and the way the test is written on a basic level will be consistent with the previous versions of the test.

Any major change to the test requires us to revisit our materials, and this will be no exception. Part of preparing, for us, is about making sure that we have a digital platform that authentically simulates the one students will use on test day. We’ll also be adapting all of our materials—manuals, practice tests, drills—to make sure that our classes include the same depth and breadth.

Q. 현행 SAT를 준비하는 학생들은 어떤 식으로 접근하여 준비해야 할까요?

Well, if you’re currently preparing for the SAT, I’ll assume you’ve made a start with the basics. However, students still early in preparing should be aware that it is common to reach a plateau—that is, the rise slows and stagnates—at a score that is lower than they’d like. It’s normal to plateau like this, so don’t be discouraged. But how do you push past it? Certainly not by just being complacent and repeating what you’ve already done. It’s necessary to dig deeper—within the test and yourself—to unearth the more marginal benefits that you hope to pile up for a more substantial gain. You need to be patient and have the will for that, and it helps to have some resources to facilitate that kind of push, which is exactly what our Ivy class offers.

Q. 고득점을 원하는 학생들이 여름방학을 앞둔 지금, 어떤 전략으로 공부해야 한다고 생각하세요?

The summer intensive period is important for students aiming at top scores. When you have the time available, you need to use it. During the school year, students are of course busy with other assignments. The summer break can provide an opportunity to focus on that specific goal—raising your test scores. That focus can help you to ramp up your test-taking performance and then strike while the iron is hot on the August test or in the fall.

Q. 최근 SAT optional을 채택하는 대학 수가 많아졌는데요. 앞으로 SAT의 영향력을 어떻게 전망하시나요?

Of course, we should clarify that optional does not mean not considered. There’s plenty of evidence that sending an SAT score that is optional but not required still results in that score being considered, and, when merited, raises the chance of admission. Now, the recent decisions to make the SAT optional were largely driven by a desire to make some accommodation on account of COVID-19, but as COVID-19 passes, or at least becomes more adapted to, I would expect many of these colleges to resume their SAT requirement. MIT, for example, has recently announced that it is resuming its SAT requirement.

The SAT has always just been one part of a student’s college application, which also includes your GPA, application essay, maybe a TOEFL score, and other things that fill out your résumé as a student. Regardless of what happens with the SAT, OSP offers comprehensive help for students, with their classes in school, with their applications, and with other tests like the ACT or TOEFL, or AP exams that they may be preparing for.

Q. 그간의 경험과 노하우를 토대로 SAT를 준비하는 학생들에게 조언의 말씀 부탁드립니다.

I would like to offer what might seem to be clichéd advice, but I should give it anyway, because it’s true. To get a good score on the SAT, it’s important to really want it, because it’s your desire and motivation to get a good SAT score that will sustain you through the reality of the work, which can be boring and time-consuming.

It helps to justify these efforts by understanding that building your skills for the SAT will largely transfer over to the overall academic foundation that will continue to serve you once you’ve arrived in college. You can cultivate this motivation by visualizing the future you hope to build in college, through it, and after it, and by setting some concrete goals, like what you want to major in, which courses you plan to take, and so on. This will help to put your SAT preparation in context and to accept the reality of the steps you need to take to get where you want to go.

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