Never fear, juniors and seniors, the SAT is still happening.
College Board has finalized an SAT date every month from August until December, and possibly January of 2021 if necessary. The soonest testing date is Saturday, August 29th, and due to the complications around registration and testing dates, College Board has waived the late registration fee. South is serving as a testing center and still has space for more students to register.
MCCSC has not yet told the school whether they can serve as a test center for any administrations besides the August 29 date, but counselor John Livingston is hopeful that South will be able to hold the administrations in the following months as well. In the event that South does not have the ability to hold any other testing dates, College Board does offer alternative testing centers, available on their website when registering for the SAT. The closest alternative testing center for students in Bloomington would be at Indiana University.
Because of COVID, the test day experience is expected to be slightly different than what it’s been in the past. College Board has published on their website a list of requirements that must be met to attend an SAT administration, including wearing a mask and social distancing, and a list of five statements that test-takers must respond to.
From the “What to Expect on SAT Test Day this Fall” page on the College Board website, the statements are:
“1. You don’t have covid-19 or reason to believe you have covid-19. Symptoms include cough, fever, chills, muscle pain, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, and recent loss of taste or smell.
- In the past 14 days, you haven’t come into close contact—within 6 feet—of someone who tested positive for or is presumed to have covid-19.
- To your knowledge, you aren’t violating any travel restrictions or quarantining requirements.
- You promise to wear a mask the entire time you’re at this test site and follow instructions from testing staff.
- By entering the testing center and testing room, you accept the risk of covid-19 exposure. Although we’ve taken measures to create a safe environment, it’s impossible to remove all risk.”
In addition to College Boards rules, South is putting safety protocols of their own into place.
“We’re going to use some different entrances at the front of the building. When students come in, we’re going to stage them in the cafeteria,” said Livingston.
Students will be distanced out and placed at cafeteria tables with the others who will be in their testing room, and released table-by-table to their room. Rooms will stagger their test start times so that breaks will also be staggered, and less students will be on break at once. However, students will be encouraged to remain in their testing rooms during breaks if at all possible.
So while many colleges are going test-optional for the coming application year, students still have the ability to take an SAT in the coming months and provide a score for their applications.