Everything We Know Right Now About the State of Standardized Testing During COVID-19

You’ve been training for months.

You’ve dutifully attended test prep classes, taken practice test after practice test, and painstakingly drilled down on your weakest question types to earn the score you want. Standardized tests can seem daunting, but you confidently and decisively took smart steps to lay the groundwork for your success. In other words, you were primed to take the SAT.

Maybe you were signed up in March, maybe May, maybe June. Because of the global pandemic, your chance to demonstrate your testing ability was canceled.

We know you have a million questions on your mind: Will you still get to take the ACT? What happens if you can’t? Will you still be able to apply to college this fall?

We want to share our best answers to these pressing questions. So, here’s everything we know right now about the state of standardized testing during COVID-19, broken down by standardized test.

SAT:

The March, May, and June administration dates for the SAT, and all SAT subject tests, have already been canceled due to public health concerns. To make sure that all incoming seniors have the chance to test despite these cancellations, College Board is planning to add a September SAT administration and increase test center capacity for all of the monthly administrations slated for August to December. If you were registered for the cancelled June administration, or are planning to attend college in the fall of 2022 and do not have an SAT score, contact College Board for an early registration code to ensure you get a seat. In the event that public health guidance prevents schools and test centers from reopening this fall, College Board is preparing a digital version of the SAT so students will be able to test from home.

ACT:

ACT rescheduled its April administration for June 13, and as of right now, the ACT still plans to offer the June administration. ACT also plans to offer a July administration this summer, with makeup test dates a week later should public health guidance require cancellation. Scheduled administrations for September, October, and December have not been altered. Like College Board, ACT plans to offer a remote testing option that will be available in late 2020 or early 2021. As previously announced, ACT still has every intention of introducing online in-person testing and a new opportunity to retake individual sections in September of 2020.

College Board and the ACT are coming up with innovative ways to ensure the class of 2021 will be able to earn standardized test scores, global pandemic or not. If you do not yet have a score, make sure to follow College Board or ACT so you will know when registration goes live. There will likely be a large number of students seeking to test, and you want to make sure you have a confirmed seat.

In the meantime, keep up your disciplined test prep routine. Don’t lose the skills you worked so hard to hone while you’re waiting to test! Also, for more information, register for our Test Prep and College Night on Monday May 18th.