Every year, more than a million college-bound high school students gather in gymnasiums and classrooms across the country. No. 2 pencils in hand, to take the most grueling, important test of their year: the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

This year, the test just got tougher.

As if the pressure of the exam weren't already enough - results are scrutinized by colleges - the test will be 45 minutes longer due to significant changes, including the addition of third-year college preparatory math questions, more critical reading, and a new writing section.

This has made the students considerably more anxious, which educators are trying to alleviate.

"Right now there is a whole education movement that is trying to get students to focus on process over content," said Weedsport Central School District English department chairwoman Tricia Austin. "This exam incorporates that, and I think students will now be more successful."

Created by the College Entrance Examination Board, the SAT was first administered in 1926. At the time, the exam included "artificial language" and logic sections that no longer exist today.

While the exam has slowly changed over the years, the last time the SAT saw any major renovations was in 1994, when antonym questions were removed and replaced with longer reading passages. Open-ended math questions were also added and calculators were permitted.

The exam, scheduled for March 12, has been divided into three sections: writing, math and critical reading.

The most significant change to the exam is that students will now be asked to write an essay, requiring them to take a position on an issue and use reasoning and examples to support their position. The essays ask students to draw information from their class lessons, personal observations and curriculum reading materials.

"This is a great addition," Austin said. "SAT's aren't just about memorization any more.

be asked to write an essay, requiring them to take a position on an issue and use reasoning and examples to support their position. The essays ask students to draw information from their class lessons, personal observations and curriculum reading materials.

"This is a great addition," Austin said. "SAT's aren't just about memorization any more. Now they focus on students' ability to apply what they are learning."

The critical reading section, previously known as the verbal section, will include short and long reading passages, followed by compression questions. The analogies have been taken out, but sentence-completion questions will remain.

The new math section will include topics such as exponential growth, absolute value, functional notation and negative and fractional exponents. Quantitative equations, commonly seen on past exams, have been eliminated.

"The math section is being expanded to reflect the mathematics that college-bound students typically learn during the first three years of high school," said Auburn Enlarged City School District guidance councilor Gail Nellenback.

The SAT aligns what students are learning in high school classrooms with common college standards, according to college board committee member and chief essay reader Jane Mallison. By doing this, the SAT provides colleges with a universal rating system that puts all high school records on the same level.

"This is the one national standard there is," Mallison said. "Schools differ so much, as do teachers and styles, but the SAT gives colleges a measuring stick where everyone is being compared to the same standards."

Students may be nervous about the changes, but according to local teachers, administrators and guidance councilors throughout the area, the new SAT requirements are nothing to get too worried about.

"I am pleased with the new standards that are being set," Austin said. "We do not have to do much to adapt our kids to this exam. The SAT now reinforces what we have already been teaching."

Based on this belief, instead of creating a new SAT class, the Weedsport school district has decided to strengthen its core curriculum by including SAT preparation in everyday classes. Over the last several months, all of the district's department heads have been working together to insure that students are getting all the training they need, beginning at the elementary level.

"We do not offer prep classes," said Weedsport High School principal Phil Grome. "What we are doing is having all of our departments work together to begin imbedding information and skills in our students at early levels."

In Auburn, careful attention is paid to what courses students are taking.

"One of the best ways to perform well on the SAT is to take rigorous courses in high school," Nellenback said. "We encourage our students to challenge themselves and take upper level math and science courses."

Nellenback also encourages students to take advance placement and college courses, as well as enroll in SAT prep classes that are offered through Cayuga Community College and Auburn High School.

"With these courses we emphasis two major things," CCC Associate Dean For Continuing Education Keith Batman said. "We really try to look at test taking strategies and allow students to practice taking the test so they understand it."

Frank Yorio, the director of guidance at Weedsport, feels students would do better on the exam if it was not accompanied by such high levels of stress. Yorio does recognize the importance colleges and universities place on the SATs, but on these kinds of exams he feels students have other options that are rarely explored.

"There is this stigma that comes with taking the SAT," Yorio said. "I think if students began to realize they have other options such as the ACT, they will be able to focus more on what they need to do."

Yorio encourages students to look at the PSATs, which helps them get a general feel for what the real test will be like. In fact, some students in the Weedsport district take the exam even earlier than their junior year.

"It is the notion of getting familiar with the format," Yorio said. "Students need to get comfortable with the test; it will help them do better if they know what to expect."

For the next several months, all school districts will be working hard to begin preparing their students not only for the new test, but for the things to come once the exam is over.

"We are creating college students," Austin said.

"When the year is over, our students will be more equipped to process information and think critically."

Staff writer Ashley Lipsky can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235

or ashley.lipsky@lee.net