Key Information on SAT for Higher Education

Update on SAT Suite of Assessments

On January 19, College Board announced three changes to the SAT Suite of Assessments:

We are discontinuing SAT Subject Tests
We are discontinuing the SAT Essay
We are investing in a more flexible SAT—a streamlined, digitally delivered test that meets the evolving needs of students and higher education.

More information on these changes is available on All Access.

Update on Spring SAT Administrations

Health and Safety

College Board will provide weekend SAT or SAT Subject Test administrations on March 13, May 8, and June 5, 2021. Please note that as the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic continues to evolve, we will continue to monitor the situation and will let you know if circumstances change closer to the test dates.

Local schools and test centers make individual decisions about whether to administer the SAT. All weekend test centers must adhere to local public health guidelines and follow College Board requirements:

All students and staff are required to wear a mask or protective face covering during an SAT administration. Students won't be allowed in the test center without a mask, which is required for the duration of testing.
Students must be seated at least 6 feet apart during testing.
Students and staff must confirm a series of statements (e.g. they don’t have Covid symptoms and they haven’t violated travel restrictions) prior to entering the test center or testing room. (see the full list of questions here).
Students who violate the requirements put in place by their test center or College Board must be dismissed from the test center; if this happens their scores will be canceled, and they won't receive a refund.

Update on PSAT/NMSQT Winter Administration

College Board will be offering a winter administration of the PSAT/NMSQT on January 26th for schools unable to offer the assessment this fall. This administration will have the same benefits as the October PSAT/NMSQT, including eligibility for programs administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. We anticipate this administration to be will be smaller than the fall.

In addition, College Board will be working closely with higher education, high schools, and families to provide additional flexibility and ways for students to connect with colleges including BigFuture Days, a series of virtual college fairs where students can have energizing and authentic conversations with colleges and admissions representatives.

Test Center Availability and Capacity

This year, many schools and test centers have had reduced capacity because of social distancing guidelines, and students may encounter unexpected closures. While College Board cannot directly control capacity and test center availability, we are working to ensure that as many students as possible are able to test safely.

We have urged member colleges to provide flexibility to students in three ways:

Accepting scores as late as possible in their process, especially by extending score deadlines for early action and early decision to take some pressure off and give students more time to test and send their scores.
Equally considering students for admission who were unable to take the assessment due to Covid-19 as those who submitted scores.
Recognizing that students who do submit scores may not have been able to take the test more than once (e.g., understanding that retaking the test to improve scores may not be possible for some who tested as high school juniors, but could no test again as seniors).

And of course, it’s more important than ever to pay close attention to the context in which all students live and learn as you make admissions decisions.

Upcoming Spring SAT Administrations

Test Date
March 3*
March 13
March 24*
April 13*
April 27*
May 8
June 5
*indicates School Day test administration

Updated Higher Ed Reporting Portal

College and university leaders have asked us for a more dynamic and interactive way to analyze and understand the SAT score reports they receive from students. This September, we launched a new, updated portal that will allow users to see students’ scores online, view enhanced trend reports, and export data for offline analysis. Note that these updates will not affect automatic data or the score reporting process.

We have created a quick, on-demand training module that provides a walkthrough of the updated features of reporting portal suitable for all higher ed staff.

Predicting Academic Outcomes through the Pandemic

We know that admissions and enrollment leaders rely on information an SAT score provides about students’ college readiness. We continue to urge flexibility in admissions processes for students who are unable to take the SAT, or who are unable to test more than once. We encourage colleges and universities to explore recent College Board research around the utility of AP course and Exam information in admissions and the insights into student performance that these measures can provide. Additionally, ACES™, the College Board’s free online validity study service, can allow institutions to explore different predictors of college success, including students’ average AP exam score and number of AP courses/exams taken.

How We're Communicating These Changes with Students

Local schools and test centers make individual decisions about whether to administer the SAT. The College Board has asked test centers to report closures as quickly as possible to help ensure students are informed in advance of test day. When test centers notify the College Board they have closed or reduced capacity, the College Board will email students directly to inform them of the change. A full list of reported closures is posted on the College Board Test Center Closings page, which is updated continuously. The College Board is encouraging students to opt in to receive text message updates if they haven’t already. Students are also encouraged to check their email regularly for messages from the College Board, to check with their local test center, and to check the Test Center Closings page up until the morning of the test.

We will continue to provide updates for students, families, and our K–12 and higher ed members via our website, blog posts, email, and social media as we have new information.

We also urge you to encourage students to put their best foot forward by submitting all relevant information, and to be creative in requesting non-traditional information that highlights students’ strengths. We have produced a series of documents with exemplar language from our member institutions:

About Fee Waivers

About the SAT Fee Waiver Program for the 2020-21 School Year

Each year, more than 750,000 SAT and SAT Subject Tests™ are taken with a fee waiver. In light of the nationwide impact of covid-19, we’re working hard to ensure as many eligible students as possible have access to SAT fee waivers.

In an effort to connect more students to the opportunities they’ve earned, College Board has expanded its distribution of electronic fee waiver codes to school counselors, test coordinators, and community-based organizations to make it easier for students to access SAT fee waivers. By expanding access to electronic fee waiver codes, school counselors can get their students the SAT fee waiver codes they need safely, and students can use them quickly right from home.

This work to expand access to electronic fee waiver codes includes:

Targeted outreach to students, including emails to fee waiver–eligible students.
Bolstering fee waiver information and resources for school counselors online.
Featuring SAT fee waiver information in upcoming counselor professional development opportunities.
Email outreach to school counselors and SAT coordinators to encourage electronic fee waiver code distribution to their eligible students. Additional supporting resources will also be provided.
Delivering hundreds of thousands of electronic fee waiver codes to state and district partners to distribute to their eligible students.

All students who have been assigned fee waivers for the 2020-21 school year can access them through the College Board student reporting portal.

Students who utilized a Fee Wavier to register and then had their registration cancelled due to covid-19 will have the SAT registration benefit returned to their College Board account for future use.

Please note that, in compliance with local, state, and federal safety regulations, College Board phone support hours are 9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET, M–F. We recognize that, due to the new schedule and high volume of calls, wait times may be longer than normal. Thank you for your patience as we work to serve you.

For more information about SAT fee waivers, please visit sat.org/feewaivers.

We have also developed the following resources to support your staff and help them answer questions through your recruitment and admissions conversations this year. They are:

Talking points and template messages for web/socialmedia.
A PDF one-pager suitable for sharing with counselors, students, and families.
Sample PowerPoint slides suitable for presentations.