In A Test-Optional Environment, What Does the SAT Mean?

It’s SAT testing season, and across the nation students are putting in their final days of prep.

Students are still enrolling to take the test despite the fact that many schools, particularly during the pandemic, have made score submission optional as part of an application. Data from The College Board, the nonprofit that administers the SAT, shows 1.5 million students from the class of 2021 took the test at least once.

Dr. Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy.“[Students] know what gives them the best shot of going [to college,]” said Dr. Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, a free, open-access online resource dedicated to education from pre-K to college. “As far as I can tell, the percent of students admitted [to a college] without SAT or ACT scores is far lower than those applying with, and it’s because the universities need some signal of readiness.”

In November 2021, the University of California decided to end SAT and ACT test score submission requirements through 2024, and should it be unable to find a suitable replacement, will end test submission altogether by 2025 or create its own assessment test. But many schools still rely on SAT or ACT scores as a way of assessing a student’s college readiness, and some scholarship opportunities are contingent on a minimum SAT score.

The SAT and other entry examinations have long been criticized of increasing the socioeconomic divide in higher education. Students with more resources are more likely to attend well-resourced high schools and have access to tutors that can help them prepare for the test. About 60% of students will take their test during SAT School Days, where schools transport their students to testing centers and give a portion of the day to the test. But that leaves 40% entirely dependent on other modes of access.

“It’s still a debated issue, whether the SAT hurts or hinders access to students who are underprivileged, have fewer resources, less exposure to college, lower resource schools, those kinds of things,” said Dr. Anthony Lising Antonio, an associate professor in Stanford University’s graduate school of education.

In an attempt to level the playing field, The College Board made the announcement the SAT was going digital. Starting in 2023, the SAT will be administered on computers with graphing calculators built into the program. The College Board also shortened the test from three hours to two, changing the length of passages students must read and only asking one comprehension question after each paragraph.