New York Times - The College Board has announced fundamental changes to the SAT, by ending the longstanding penalty for guessing incorrectly, removing arcane vocabulary and making the essay optional. The scoring will return to the old system of 1600 points, rather than 2400 points, and the optional essay will have a separate score. Some changes will make the new SAT more like the ACT, which for the last two years has outpaced the SAT in test takers.