Today, David Coleman, CEO of College Board, announced that the SAT Subject Tests and optional SAT Essay will be discontinued immediately.
Why is College Board making these changes?
The admissions process has been shifting away from the SAT Subject Tests and SAT essay for the past several years, as a large number of colleges and universities abandoned policies mandating either of these application components. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, and so today marks the official end for an unpopular set of exams. This will surely come as welcome news for many stressed-out high school students, parents, and counselors. It is yet to be seen whether the ACT will continue to offer its optional ACT Essay.
What if I’m already registered for an SAT Subject Test or to take the SAT Essay?
Students who are already registered for these exams should expect to receive refunds, and these options will no longer be available for registration online.
How will these changes affect College Admissions?
It will take college admissions offices time to react to this news, but all students can consider these offerings canceled. While this certainly helps to simplify the standardized testing process a bit, it also brings more focus to the AP curriculum and AP Exams. Many colleges already consider a student's AP course load and AP Exam scores as factors in a candidate's profile. If admissions offices do start to put more weight onto AP Exams, many students who are not in AP classes may feel disadvantaged in the application process. However, all students are welcome to enroll for AP Exams and therefore will be able to demonstrate their hard work and level of mastery in these topics.
What does this mean for US students applying to international schools?
Because of the sudden nature of this announcement, there are a few details that remain uncertain. Subject Tests have long been used by students in the United States to apply to universities abroad, such as Oxford and Cambridge, where they are recommended, or McGill, where they are required. It is unclear what may replace these, but Oxford's requirement is either SAT Subject Test scores or AP exam scores, so these schools could shift their attention to AP Exams.
What does this mean for international students applying to US schools?
For international students applying to study in the US, the SAT Subject Tests have been important historically, and the SAT will still offer a few more administrations of the tests internationally. Colleges have yet to clarify whether they will consider these scores in the admissions process.