The test that has left millions of students frustrated, hundreds of tutors rich and plenty of parents stressed, is getting a makeover; the College Board (the company that makes the SAT) has finally decided to change its ways.

The new SAT will be piloted in the spring of 2016, and will include three sections-evidence-based reading and writing, math and an optional based essay, each changed to stop students from learning testing techniques instead of actual content. College Board President and CEO David Coleman said, “No longer will it be good enough to focus on tricks and eliminate answer choices…we are not interested in students just picking in answer, but justifying their answer.” Overall, the new test is supposed to more accurately reflect what students learn in their twelve years in school instead of the few months they prepare for the test. Many believe it is transforming into something closer to its competitor, the ACT (which for the first time was taken more by high school students than the SAT last year.)

At an event in Austin, Coleman also mentioned “standardized tests have become “far too disconnected from the work of our high schools…they’re too stressful for students, too filled with mystery and “tricks” to raise scores and aren’t necessarily creating more college-ready students.”

The biggest changes for the test will be shifting from its 2400 scale to its original 1600, with a separate score for the essay. Additionally, the “crazy” vocabulary that is usually among answer choices will be gone, and test takers will no longer be penalized for choosing incorrect answers. To help many with the unfamiliarity of this new exam, College Board will partner for the first time with Khan Academy to provide free test preparation materials, starting in spring 2015. Some Khan Academy tools will be available to help students taking the SAT before the redesigned exam launches, Coleman said. When asked about students, Coleman replied, “we hope you breathe a sigh of relief that this exam will be focused, useful, open, clear, and aligned with the work you will do throughout high school.”

Others outside of the College Board community also feel positive towards these changes. Steve Syverson, a member of the NACAC board and Dean of Admissions Emeritus for Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, claimed, “I’d like to be optimistic and believe some of this is going to be good…I just don’t know how it will work out.”