OAT IS CHANGING...after July 15

[eye2eye]

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Hi everyone...

well this is important so I guess many of you will be interested in knowing that the OAT IS CHANGING...

READ ABOUT IT ON
http://www.opted.org/info_oat.cfm
then click on "Online Registration for OAT"
then under "Important Updates (as of 3-6-06)" download the PDF file.

that should tell you everything you need to know...

I had heard about this about a week ago...and the person who told me, said that it was going to get harder...however reading the updates make me think it is easier. Here is the deal...he said they are removing questions...but the remaining ones are getting harder.

BUT NOT ALL SECTIONS ARE CHANGING ACCORDING TO THAT WEBSITE...so do not panice...just read and let me know if you findout new updates!

 

[eye2eye]

"Difficulty Level of the OAT
The OAT has always contained questions at varying levels of difficulty. There are no plans to
make the test any more difficult than it has been in the past."

That is taken right from that website...if the above sentance is right...then what that man told me about the questions being harder is not true.

I am trying to contact the person who initially told me about these changes...he said he was on the board of OAT...so I'll post updates

 

[iballer]

Here's my take on the new OAT:
The only changes are in RC and QR. Current RC - number of questions vs time gives you 1.2 min/question. The new RC will give you 1.25 min/question with shorter passages so it should be easier . The QR can go either way, less questions but different materials and the time remains the same 😕 .

The OAT….What’s New? Update as of 3-6-06
A few changes are planned for the OAT; however these changes will not be effective until sometime after July 15, 2006. Until that time the current description of the test in the Examinee Guide remains accurate. These changes will not impact anyone who tests before July 15, 2006. Changes will only occur in two sections of the test, most of the test will remain unchanged.

Survey of the Natural Sciences
There will be no change to this section of the test. The information in the Examinee Guide remains accurate and the sample test provided remains the same.

Reading Comprehension
Current Test: The current version of the Reading Comprehension Test consists of three passages and a total of 50 questions. Each passage is associated with approximately 15-17 questions and a total of 60 minutes is allowed for this section of the test.

New Version: The purpose and content of the test will remain the same. The description of the content in the Examinee Guide remains unchanged. The changes that will occur in the test affect the length of the reading passages, number of questions, and time allotted for the test. The
passages will be shorter and there will only be 40 questions on the test. The number of questions associated with each passage will range from 10-15 and the time limit for the test will change to 50 minutes.
A new sample test, reflecting these changes, will be available online several months prior to the change in the test. If you plan to take the test after July 15, 2006, check Important Updates for new information.

Physics
There will be no change to this section of the test. The information in the Examinee Guide remains accurate and the sample test provided remains the same.

Quantitative Reasoning
Current Test: The current version of the Quantitative Reasoning Test consists of 50 questions with a time limit of 45 minutes. The current content covered by the test is listed in the Examinee Guide.

New Version: The new version of the test will have 40 questions but, the time will remain the same at 45 minutes. There have been some content changes in the new version of the test. The content of the test will include: Mathematical Problems: Algebra - equations and expressions, inequalities, exponential notation and logarithms, absolute value, ratios and proportions and graphical analysis; Numerical calculations - fractions and decimals, percentages, approximations, and scientific notation; Probability and Statistics; Geometry; Trigonometry, and Applied Mathematics (Word) Problems. A new sample test, reflecting these changes, will be available online several months prior to the change in the test. If you plan to take the test after July 15, 2006, check Important Updates for new information.

 

[eye2eye]

"The new RC will give you 1.25 min/question with shorter passages so it should be easier "

the reason you are given more time could be because they are a bit more difficult...

I mean, I agree with what you are saying...BUT, I can't help but take into account what the man from the OAT board told us. He said less questions, but more level 4 to 5 questions, rater then easy 1-2 level quesions.

BUT SEE,,,that doesn't agree with what the OAT website said about the difficulty...they said it is not going to get any more difficult...

I donno, we should all still prepare A LOT and do our best...not much else we can do =)

 

[iballer]

"The new RC will give you 1.25 min/question with shorter passages so it should be easier "

the reason you are given more time could be because they are a bit more difficult...

I mean, I agree with what you are saying...BUT, I can't help but take into account what the man from the OAT board told us. He said less questions, but more level 4 to 5 questions, rater then easy 1-2 level quesions.

BUT SEE,,,that doesn't agree with what the OAT website said about the difficulty...they said it is not going to get any more difficult...

I donno, we should all still prepare A LOT and do our best...not much else we can do =)

I will trust the OAT website more than the person that you're talking about since it's official vs hearsay.

That's all we can do....study A LOT and do our best on the OAT.

Are you applying to SCCO in 2007? I remember your post asking for stats on people that got accepted to SCCO.

 

[catzeye523]

it looks like the QR is easier, as least in the way they describe it. when i took the OAT last week, i had the most difficulty in the QR and even found myself freaking out because i didn't have enough time. the majority definitely had mini-word problems that you would need to think through so that you can think of how to approach it.

 

[gsinccom]

I wonder....I wonder....I've already got a bunch of prep materials (Kaplan and Topscore and was thinking of getting OAT achiever too) but wasn't planning on taking the OAT till the Fall (Novemberish). Are the QR and RC sections on thiese prep materials going to be a waste now?
I know this isn't a big change by ASCO but I think they need to give more lead time to students than 4 months so we can make our plans accordingly!

 

[pre_opt_sku]

I wonder....I wonder....I've already got a bunch of prep materials (Kaplan and Topscore and was thinking of getting OAT achiever too) but wasn't planning on taking the OAT till the Fall (Novemberish). Are the QR and RC sections on thiese prep materials going to be a waste now?
I know this isn't a big change by ASCO but I think they need to give more lead time to students than 4 months so we can make our plans accordingly!

I'm sure you will be fine....it doesn't look like the test is changing very much other than the time and ammount of questions. The content of your prep materials definitely won't be a waste. QR looks pretty much the same...after having taken the test last year I can't even tell what is different in the new list from when I took the OAT. I know I covered all of the topics on the new list when I studied last year. The content of RC isn't changing at all. I'm not really how people prepare for RC anyways...I did abstolutely no prep for that section and pulled off a good score.

 

[eye2eye]

I will trust the OAT website more than the person that you're talking about since it's official vs hearsay.

That's all we can do....study A LOT and do our best on the OAT.

Are you applying to SCCO in 2007? I remember your post asking for stats on people that got accepted to SCCO.

yes iballer...i will be applyiny to SCCO 2007...also, SUNY, ICO, PCO, so far...

why? are you?

 

[S_SEEN2020]

I took the OAT twice, and I thought that RC was the easiest section. They ask a lot of straight forward questions that you can get the answer staright from the text immediately or answer off the top of your head. So the new version may make that section more challenging. As far as QR goes, many don't do as well because they don't study for it. What makes that section hard is that there are pretty elementary type math, that most people in college haven't seen since like grade school. In my opinion there are way too many questions for the time alloted. I ususally pick and choose the easiest ones, and just mark any answer for the other half of the questions that I couldn't answer or just didn't have time to answer. So with the new changes, it seems like you have more of an opportunity to answer more that half of the questions.

 

[bizibee]

i heard about this too, but i didn't think that they were actually going to change it. i heard that they were going to have fewer questions, but the remaining questions are going to be difficult ones. and yes, this mostly is in regards to the QR section.

also, they might put a limit on how many times you can take the OAT because apparently there are people who take the test 5 times or so.

goodluck to those taking the OAT!