On Tuesday of this week, the College Board put out this statement about updates that are being made to the SAT. The release is called “An Update on Reducing and Simplifying Demands on Students,” and it highlights three changes. We’re diving into them below:
1) SAT Subject Tests are being discontinued.
SAT Subject Tests have, frankly, been a bit of a mess for quite some time. For starters, a common critique of SAT 2’s is that there’s a lot of overlap in material between subject tests and AP tests, which the College Board also distributes. Our TKG clients have often wondered why it’s necessary to take both, and the pros and cons associated with either decision. Another issue with SAT Subject Tests is a lack of clarity from colleges themselves in terms of their requirements. A sliding scale exists, meaning that colleges either refer to the tests as optional, required, or recommended. Perhaps more confusing is another common stance – schools say that they’ll look at them if you send them, but it won’t necessarily work to your disadvantage should you not be able to send them in. Without clear boundaries, a lot of students in the past have been confused and unsure how to best allocate their time.
As of this new announcement, SAT Subjects tests are no longer being offered. Future dates for students in the United States have been cancelled, and they’re holding two more dates (May and June of 2021) for international students. If you’re already signed up for one, look out for a refund.
It was also mentioned that while the College Board has reached out to member colleges about this change, you should still check the websites of colleges for the most up to date application information.
2) The optional SAT Essay is being discontinued, too.
You can still take the SAT with the essay through June, 2021. But after that, the essay will only be available in states where it’s required for SAT School Day.
3) Per the College Board: “We are investing in a more flexible SAT—a streamlined, digitally delivered test that meets the evolving needs of students and higher education.”
Of all of the updates, this one feels the least tangible. This is because things are still in flux, and the announcement says that more updates will come this Spring. The most important takeaway here is that the College Board has acknowledged the widespread testing issues that have occurred thus far, and that they’re making plans to expand capacity in the future. They mentioned that there is still a “clear demand” for the SAT, and that they’ll allocate seats that were previously meant for SAT Subject Tests for students who want to take the SAT.
Standardized tests were greatly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. And in light of cancellations, we saw many colleges adopt test-optional policies. At TKG, this week’s statement brings us back to a question we’ve been asking for a while: do we need to rethink the college admissions process? We think that we do.
Last year, it proved impossible (and unfair) to hold the SAT online due to the fact that not every test taker would have access to a sturdy internet connection. And we already know that the things required to do well on tests are not universal. And while top-tier schools are unlikely to remove standardized testing requirements entirely, we know that it’s entirely possible to evaluate students without SAT scores. As we begin to rethink aspects of the SAT, we hope that a more holistic application process can emerge in the future. We’ll be monitoring these updates, and will update the blog when we have more information.
If you’re not sure where to start with the college process, contact us here.