College Board Postpones June SAT

Testing agency adds September test, giving students one per month starting in August.

This afternoon, the College Board announced that it will not be administering the SAT or SAT Subject tests on June 6th, due to the ongoing public safety risk posed by COVID-19. This latest decision marks the third consecutive SAT date postponed due to the virus, and will be particularly frustrating for students whose March and May testing dates were pushed to June.

In order to help students make up their testing dates, the College Board will be adding a September test, which means that students will have the ability to take one SAT every month from August straight through to December of 2020. They’ll be releasing more details in the coming weeks, including the exact date of the planned September test. In addition, the College Board is asking community partners, like schools and colleges, to offer additional space for these tests, so more students can take the SAT on these fall dates. They’re also considering adding an additional international SAT, but didn’t provide more details.

All of that, of course, assumes that the College Board will be able to administer tests in-person when August comes. In case quarantining procedures are still necessary in August, the College Board is “investing significant resources in developing a digital, remote testing option for all students,” much like the online AP exams. We can expect to hear more about that option if the August test is threatened by quarantine.

Students will be able to start registering in May for the fall tests, including the new September date; however, if you’re a student whose June registration was cancelled or a current Junior who hasn’t been able to take an SAT yet, you will be able to access the registration sooner. The College Board didn’t clarify what “sooner” means; the report indicated that College Board staff will be reaching out to students directly if they qualify for early registration.

If your June test date was cancelled, you can choose to transfer that registration to a future test or ask their Customer Service team for a refund.

As of Wednesday afternoon, ACT, Inc still plans to hold the June ACT in-person as scheduled. It’s possible that ACT, Inc will distinguish itself from the College Board and offer the June test online rather than postpone wholecloth, especially since it had already planned to administer the test online starting in September. As ACT news becomes available, you can count on us to keep you informed.