The digital SAT took place in America for the first time on March 9, introducing a shorter and fully online testing format. Other changes that the digital SAT introduced included an online graphing calculator in the math section, much shorter passages in the reading section, and adaptive questions according to the student’s performance.

Numerous news websites expressed their shock at the difficulty of the test, especially the second module of the math section which many argued had unfamiliar topics. The New York Post even regarded the March SAT as the “worst one yet.” Many SIS test-takers also regarded the test as very difficult.

“This was my first SAT and I thought that the first modules were very easy for both reading and math, but when it moved on to the second modules, it got way harder, so I thought that it was not that balanced,” Dyne Kim (10), first-time SAT-taker, said. “For the English module, the passages were almost all about science, so the concept was very hard to understand. I think that the practice tests that I took to prepare were easier than this one.”

The difficulty of the March SAT has stirred up worry for the upcoming May and June tests, which will follow the same format and likely have similar questions and take place on May 4 and June 1.