College Board to Add Additional International Test Date in 2020

On October 31st, the College Board announced that they plan to add an August test date for international test-takers, starting in 2020. This means that the College Board will be offering the SAT five times a year to international students - in August, October, December, March and May. The College Board also offers the SAT Subject Tests to international students in August, October, December, May, and June.

It’s an interesting decision, in light of the College Board’s current trouble with its international tests. In August, students in the U.S. were given a test with questions recycled from the international test administration in October 2017. Some students who traveled to the U.S. to take the August test may have had a significant edge over American students, either because they’d taken the October 2017 test or because they’d seen the test, which was leaked online shortly after it was originally administered back in 2017. A Florida parent filed a class-action lawsuit in September, suing the College Board for the reuse of testing material.

The College Board’s trouble with leaked international tests is nothing new. The College Board actually reduced the number of international test dates in response to cheating scandals in 2016 and 2017. Here in 2018, the College Board finds itself in the middle of yet another cheating scandal, but its response this time has been to add tests, rather than eliminate them. It will be interesting to see if this increase in international test dates will cause more test-recycling scandals, or whether it will propel the College Board towards Computer-Adaptive Testing, which would prevent leaks by providing every student with an individualized set of test questions. As Jed noted last month, “While paper test forms are used and reused, we will have continued security breaches. It’s inevitable. Computer adaptive testing resolves the security issues that plague paper-based test forms used across time zones and geographies. Emerging technologies now allow us to quickly generate testing items and build vast problem banks.”

For more information on registering for the SAT’s international test administrations, visit their International Registration page.