Thousands Of High School Students Take Newly Revamped SAT Test

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Nearly half a million students across the nation will take the revamped SAT test Saturday.

The college admissions exam has undergone extensive changes to be closer aligned to what students are learning in school.

The multiple choice format of the test has been modified, offering students to choose between four answers instead of five.

There will also be less geometry, no more vocabulary words and the essay will be optional. The top score will also return to the original 1600, after being changed to 2400 several years ago.

The College Board explained the reasoning behind altering the test.

"The redesigned SAT is built from the most current research on what students need to be ready for college," College Board Middle States Regional vice president David Adams said in a statement. "We removed the tricks and mysteries that previously left some students at a disadvantage."

Despite the changes, some private test prep centers have suggested that students opt out of taking the test this time around, in favor of other college admission exams.

"What we are advising our students to do is to take the ACT for right now," Jeremy Cohen, a test prep instructor, said. "And on top of it we don't even know how the schools are going to look at a score from the SAT.

Educators said the real test will be whether the new SAT levels the playing field and will be a fairer indicator of college success. That assessment could take years.