As a result of the coronavirus, test centers across California are cancelling their early fall tests. Especially eager students have flocked to rural counties and even to open test centers in Nevada. These test center cancellations have completely changed how students can access CollegeBoard testing, making it really about the resources that families can provide.

“The SAT has always been very subjective and should not be taken into account by colleges, especially given how they’ve handled it; they can do better,” said Kiana Lum (‘22). 

At this point, it’s commonly known that the SATs don’t actually test students’ knowledge. They are just testing for how well people know SAT type problems. Many colleges have already cancelled SAT and ACT requirements as media sources cry out about the disparities of standardized testing. 

“With all the uncertainty this year, it is unfortunate that many testing centers have decided to cancel only a few weeks before the test date, leaving students with no options but to try to reschedule to a later date. The concern is that many students have said that they don’t really have any reasonable options even months ahead of time due to the lateness of the cancellation. Quite simply, spots are booked up by the time students are notified,” said Nelson, Academic Director at Summit Tutoring Center. 

Adding to the frustration is the fact that many students study rigorously for the SAT and by delaying the SAT by a few months, their time is effectively wasted. SAT prep sessions are often only a month or two, with students cramming knowledge and techniques for taking the SAT. 

“Some students have informed us that they have managed to secure a spot at a testing center 40-50 miles away from their home. But what if that also gets cancelled at the last minute? Students are already stressed out from all that has happened since March. We hope that testing centers can inform students earlier rather than later to alleviate some of that stress,” said Nelson. 

As a result, the results from the SAT this year will be incredibly inconsistent. Students who can afford multiple sessions of prep due to the test dates being pushed back will score much higher than those who have only participated in even some sort of prep or no study at all. 

The SAT on a normal basis already isn’t a level playing field and is totally materialistic. There is absolutely no question that this year will be even worse than usual. 

CollegeBoard and their test centers need to take responsibility and find a workaround for this. The coronavirus is an unprecedented crisis, but a company the size of CollegeBoard has the staff and resources to figure out that there are better options, even for such an outdated and insane test.