The Standardized Assessment Test (SAT) is one of the essential standardized tests used by colleges to see how applicants compare to one another in regards to their performance on the test. The SAT challenges students and determines whether they are prepared for the academically rigorous courses that they will potentially face in college.  However, it has been said that the College Board, the company that administers the test, has been recycling questions from previous exams, which means that students could already know a few answers before they even walk in on test day. Debate continues on whether or not this is a just practice in the world of standardized testing or if it gives some students an edge over others. Yet, using recycled questions simply takes pressure off students shoulders and implements questions students have already studied.

If a student properly studies they may get lucky and find the exact same test question they studied on the exam; however, the odds, nevertheless, are slim. The incorporation of these previous questions benefits academically-driven students who study.

“I study for hours lost on what exactly [I’m] supposed to be studying, but with the SAT saying [that they are] incorporating some previous test questions, [I] know where to start,” sophomore Karla Argenal said.

Yet others beg to differ, feeling that using recycled questions creates an unfair system of standardized testing and that students will only study previous SAT questions, limiting their expectations for the test. Others also think that students who study rigorously for this test are being forgotten, and that the exam as a key to getting into college is slowly losing its challenging essence and becoming a simple test like an End-of-Course (EOC) Exam.

However, the SAT test isn’t entirely recycled; only a small amount of questions are reused, and this creates a reasonable balance between new questions and recycled questions for students. The integration of these prior questions encourages students to take a look at past exams helping them establish a foundation for the exam, increasing there chances of getting a higher score. The system is still ethically sound because students have no idea from which year the SAT will incorporate questions.

Students can only hope that the SAT will continue incorporating previous questions, to help limit their months of studying. Students will no longer have to wander bewildered into the world of studying.