College Board Cancels SATs Through August Adding Tests May Go Digital If Schools Don't Reopen
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Each year, nearly three million students take the SAT college exam but this week, the College Board canceled all test dates until August due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Admissions counselors across the country recognize how difficult this time is for high school students but are students to focus on what they can control, when it comes to applying for college.
"The ways that you invest in your community, the impact that you have on a classroom, campus, in your neighborhood, these are all things that are really good indicators of the way that you'll invest in your community, when you are in college," said college counselor Jeff Morrow.
If schools haven't reopened by the fall, students will be able to take the SAT from home, the not-for-profit that administers the test said Wednesday.
The news follows an earlier announcement by the organization that said Advanced Placement (AP) exams would also be taken digitally by students this spring.
"As with at-home AP Exams, the College Board would ensure that at-home SAT testing is simple; secure and fair; accessible to all; and valid for use in college admissions," the organization said in a statement.
At least 3 million students will be taking their AP exams online, the College Board said.
The College Board said that while this would be the first time SATs would be taken by students from home, it would not be the first time the test is administered digitally, adding it had already been done in several states and districts over the past year.
"Like the paper test, a digital, remote version of the SAT would measure what students are learning in school and what they need to know to be successful in college," it said.
The digital, at-home test is one of three contingencies the College Board said it is planning to make tests available to students during the coronavirus pandemic.
If schools are open in the fall, the organization said it will offer in-school make up exams for tests that were canceled this spring. If it is safe to do so, the nonprofit also said it would begin offering the SAT again every month starting in August and through the end of 2020.
The announcements come amidst a rapidly changing landscape in the college admissions process. Already, at least 51 colleges and universities have dropped the ACT/SAT requirements at least through the fall of 2021, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing reported.
Others have announced they're making those tests optional for an even longer period.
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