Changes to the Administration of SAT’s Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

A few months back, the College Board announced that the administration of the SAT tests was being significantly altered to to the COVID-19 pandemic. I recently connected with Sara Roberts, a tutor for Math Nation, who seemed well informed about these changes. I asked her if she would write up a quick overview of these changes for our readers and she kindly did so. – KW

What will the adjusted SAT consist of? How will it be different from the normal SAT?

Due to COVID-19, the College Board cancelled the March, May and June SAT Administrations. Fall administrations are currently set for August 29th, September 26th, October 3rd, November 7th, and December 5th. Students can get early access to register for August, September, and October if they are already registered for the June administration or are in the high school graduating class of 2021 and do not have an SAT score yet. The College Board is also working to expand testing centers in the fall so that every student who wants to take the SAT can.

How can students learn more about this?

Students can stay up to date on the latest changes with the SAT on the College Board Website (https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat). Currently, College Board has alerts regarding cancelled administrations of the SAT as well as helpful articles for everything from ‘interpreting your scores’ to ‘what to expect on test day’. Additionally, Math Nation is always posting up-to-date information as we receive it. If there are any changes, Math Nation will provide materials for students (such as videos and practice problems) to use to prepare and practice for the test.

What do you suggest students do differently to prepare for this different version of the SAT?

Students should continue to prepare for their SAT as they normally would during this time. Communication from the College Board has been that they are, “preparing to significantly expand our capacity for students to take the SAT once schools reopen.” The College Board has also said that they are prepared to administer a digital exam in case school does not reopen in the fall. The digital, remote version of the SAT would measure the same student-preparedness for college as the paper-based test. Since there is still no official word on a remote, digital version of the SAT, using both paper-based and digital study resources will best prepare students to take the exam in the fall.

How can students stay on track and continue to prepare for the SAT?

There are many great resources to prepare for the SAT and sometimes it can be hard to chose which option is best. It is helpful to chose a platform such as Math Nation which incorporates multiple avenues for learning. Math Nation has study guides, engaging videos with on-screen teachers, and digital practice problems that give students immediate feedback. Even with the best resources, studying for the SAT will only be effective with a plan, and study plans are not one size fits all. After students figure out how long they have to study (1 month, 3 months, etc), they should spend time researching a plan that best fits their lifestyle and SAT goals. The most important part of creating a SAT study plan is sticking to it! The more consistent students are in their studies the easier it will be to stay on track and not get overwhelmed as the test date approaches. Additionally, we want to remind students who studied for the spring or June SAT that got rescheduled to not get discouraged. The time and effort they spent studying will l pay off for them when they are able to take their rescheduled SAT.