witched the rhetorical mode of the expected response from persuasive to analytical.
You will now be presented with a real passage, of a length similar to those in the ordinary reading passages, and you will need to write an essay that analyzes how the author of the passage attempts to persuade the reader rather than expressing your own opinion on the issue that the author discusses.
This is a huge, huge change. The traditional SAT/ACT essay is meant to be a measure of generic writing ability. The particular topic chosen is largely irrelevant. It's just a vehicle for you to write something. With the new essay, writing will not be clearly distinct from reading. And, of course, that's how academic writing really works. A competent college essay isn't just the writer spouting opinions. It's a participation in an ongoing conversation and requires the writer to synthesize what others have said before and respond to that. To do well on this essay, you will have to be able to read an unfamiliar passage, analyze it for rhetorical structure on the fly, and cogently express your observations. One obvious consequence (intended) will be that the common test-prep strategy of using prepared examples goes right out the window.
Another major change is that they will be switching from holistic to analytical grading. You won't just get a single score based on overall impression. You'll get a variety of subscores on different aspects of the essay. Provisionally, they are proposing scores for reading (how well you understand what the source says), analysis (how well you evaluate the author's rhetorical strategies), and writing (how well you express yourself), all on a 1-4 scale. This is a very intriguing change. It will make the job for the readers a bit more demanding, but it will also give substantially more precise feedback on which aspects of the essay are successful.
My gut reaction is that it's going to be substantially more fun to teach the skills for this essay than for the old SAT.
Update: I'd also note that, while there have been some accusations (based on the early announcement) that these revisions amounted to dumbing down the SAT, anyone who tries to claim that with respect to the essay is clearly high. This essay assignment will be unquestionably more demanding and will tap a wider range of skills than the current essay. Preliminarily, I'd also say that the accusation is mistaken across the board, but I'll tackle that point--especially as it relates to changes in vocabulary testing--in a later post.