If they are trying to expand options, that doesn’t change my advice. I don’t think it’s worth dropping any class or any EC in favor of prepping for a test. If this student is aiming high, he needs at the very least 1500 in order to be competitive for tippy top schools. I’d say 1530 is more realistic. Achieving a 100+ point increase is going to be extremely difficult and prepping excessively very likely won’t achieve the desired result. Unless this student is aiming for MIT, the time spent is not worth it.
The new reality is that as long as colleges remain test optional (nearly all the top colleges are) there is no benefit to the majority of students in submitting anything other than a score of at least 1500, and realistically, 1530. Unless the student is hooked in some way, that is. We don’t have any information to support this.
This thread contains all information about the new digital SAT, including how to access the free official tests.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/t/the-new-digital-sat
Meanwhile, College Board still has all eight current official practice tests on its site.