Chinese and non-English native students may be affected by the latest modifications of the SAT exam, which places more emphasis on reading comprehension. Traditionally, Chinese students perform best in mathematics and depend largely on rote memorization and cramming.

According to College Board, which administers the test, the overhauled exam will now cover longer and more complex reading passages and prolix math problems, which will challenge students with realistic tests. Test items like short sentence completion has been removed, and students will now have to determine the vocabulary meaning when reading stories or articles.

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Meanwhile, essay writing will now be optional - depending on the institution. The highest score has gone back to 1600, down from the 2400-item questionnaire given since 2005. This is the biggest redesigning of the SAT in 10 years.

According to some admission officers and education experts, reading comprehension will be a disadvantage particularly for students who are not from families or countries that use English as their primary mode of communication. This is particularly true "because [the] test remains timed --- speed is a key issue," public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing Robert Schaeffer said.

Students may feel pressured to finish longer passages in a given particular period of time, he explained, and this could affect their overall performance. Schaeffer explained that usually, non-English natives tend to translate the English test to their home language and then back to English again.

The College Board said "regardless of geography", the modified SAT exam will assess important skills students need for college and their career.

In a statement, the board clarified that the recent remodeling of SAT exam is aimed at making it more focused, useful and clear to students. The organization revealed that the changes included getting rid of ambiguous words that are difficult to comprehend especially by non-native English speakers.

It further revealed that founding documents from the United States, like the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, which use obsolete terms, may also be featured and may give non-US examinees a hard time to understand.

Schaeffer, in defense if the changes, said that he found no measurement reason why passages should be taken from US founding documents instead of from the United Nations founding documents or Darwin's papers.

SAT program manager for Kaplan Test Prep Dennis Yim revealed that the recent changes will modify who will perform best in the exam, making it difficult for slow readers and those who do not have a well-polished English skill.

The performance of students good in mathematics may also be affected as the exam will still cover 30 percent word problems, but with a tinge of intricate scenarios. Past SAT exams only covered questions triggering the student's base line knowledge, capability to deal with operational numbers and completing equations.

University of Massachusetts Amherst assistant provost for enrollment Kregg Strehorn revealed that he does not believe that non-English natives are being put at a disadvantage by the changes - particularly filling math section with more reading comprehension.

Strehorn, who helps in assessing university applicants, revealed that the latest exam might push some Chinese parents to send their kids earlier to international schools, seeing that Western class setup may have a huge advantage, even if it is just contextual.

TagsSAT exam, China education, College entrance exams, non-native English speakers