Last week, the juniors and sophomores received their PSAT scores, and the new PSAT that we took reflected the redesigned PSAT that people have been talking about. Collegeboard redesigned the SAT for various reasons, and there has already been many discussions about its seemingly dramatic changes. This New York Times article written by Anemona Hartocollis reveals a potential issue of the new design that could enlarge success gaps between the privileged and the underprivileged through its use of statistics and quotes from authority figures.
While describing the new redesigned format, Hartocollis lays the potential problems that led to Collegeboard's decision. According to studies, "Competition for market share has been growing, and in 2012, the ACT surpassed the SAT" (Hartcollis 8). This shows through numbers how the decisions came about for Collegeboard, and also establishes logos for the readers to know.
In addition to adding statistics, Hartcollis also adds quotes from authority figures to lay the potential damages of this redesigned format. According to experts, "Chief among the changes, experts say: longer and harder reading passages and more words in math problems. The shift is leading some educators and college admissions officers to fear that the revised test will penalize students who have not been exposed to a lot of reading, or who speak a different language at home — like immigrants and the poor" (2). This shows the problems that would be exacerbated by this new change of the SATs. Because she quoted an expert on the issue, she could establish ethos through this quote as well as clearly show readers what the new SAT could bring.
This was a mainly informative article that addressed the reasons behind the new change and the potential outcomes of this new change. Through the use of statistics, numbers, and quoting authority figures, Hartocollis shows that the new designed SAT could harm students coming from underprivileged backgrounds.
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