My son took the first digital SAT March 9. He did amazing on the reading and writing, but his math score was his lowest since his first College Board digital practice exam. He felt that the math was harder than any of College Board's practice exams. Anyone else have similar experiences?

He will work hard to improve, but the difference between practice exams and actual exam was notable, in his view (and in his score).

my understanding is the digital SAT had a higher average score compared to the old format by 100 points or so.

Need validation.

SAT Math is very nuanced and, in some ways, its own language. For someone like myself, I can diagnose any question within seconds because I have a trained eye to understand which concepts they are testing based on the characteristics and cues embedded into the question.

With the new Digital SAT math, there are some new techniques that students must learn to master to score well among the upper ranks, and it takes some practice, coaching, and intuitive thinking.

Overall, the practice tests were a bit easier, but ultimately, they covered all the foundational concepts to master this test. To do exceptionally well now, it is vital that students understand these concepts at a deep level and how to simultaneously use all the tools available to them.