My kid took the SAT only one time last March in Washington state and was amazed to learn other students at the testing site had flown in from California just to be able to take the test that date.
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Some Class of 22 students in our area were struggling to get a test site as the number of seats were reduced. They had to plan ahead and some drove over 2 hours to test at someplace with a seat for the date desired. That can add to test anxiety as well.
Everyone at our school who wanted to take a test was able to as we offered them on school days in the spring and an in house ACT in the fall. All schools can offer an ACT for just their students on the test dates. This was pushed out to schools as an option. Many schools have overwhelmed staff.
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No difficulty taking the ACT or SAT test in Spring, Summer or Fall in metro areas in Colorado. No cancellations of which I am aware. Small rural areas may be different.
Yes - ACT cancelled twice
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It really sounds like the country is a mosaic of “multiple cancellations” and "no problem getting tested.
I would say that this answers the OP - TO is was necessary this year, because there are large numbers of applicants who could not take the test, and this is spread across the USA.
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Here in NY the tests were offered but possibly less students allowed to attend. Most SAT test sites filled up quickly so if you didn’t sign up very early you had to wait for the next test or two. One of my daughters got bumped twice last minute from ACT to another location two hours away. We ended up canceling and she is going test optional.
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So are we. Every test center within 25 miles was full by early August for Fall test dates, after most Spring 2020 test dates were cancelled everywhere. Our school cut capacity in half when it was offered.
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Huh. My daughter was able to take the SAT and ACT both 2x between the fall of 2020 and March of 2021. I think that time frame is accurate
My brother had one test cancelled (early in the year) due to a Covid outbreak in the area in NJ. He had another one cancelled in NY in March (the school was converted to a vaccination clinic) . Was finally able to take the SAT offered through his school and another over the summer.
Our friend in the UC Davis area has a D22 and her tests were canceled multiple times. Similar situation in the Bay Area (CA). The two seniors went test optional. It was too much work to deal with getting a spot and then getting canceled without a reason given.
Mid this month, our friends are driving from the Bay Area to Davis for their S23’s ACT looks like it’s available for now. I know a senior who’s going to take it just to see if he could crank out a Hail Mary score since it’ll be his first sitting.
My D24 actually got to take the PSAT at her school during school hours this Fall.
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In my area (New England), no, not really although several test dates were cancelled . So August 2020, SAT was available, and several local schools offered a September in school SAT to seniors only, then November cancelled, March through June limited capacity but available; summer 2021 as available as in previous years. The school offered an ACT to all juniors in April 2021 which is what my son took.
I asked my son about this and he told me that his friends have tested as much as they would have otherwise (2 or 3 times, both ACT and SAT through October 2021) but are going test optional because they never got the scores they wanted.
This thread really shows how the wealthy have a leg up. I can think of many kids who don’t have access to a vehicle to drive two hours away to take a standardized test. I wouldn’t really call that accessible and I think if it affects even just a few kids (less than one percent), then it’s fair to say test optional was necessary. I also think a lot of kids only had an opportunity for a single sitting and let’s be honest, that is going to affect scores as well.
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In my part of New England, when every public school went remote, most religious private schools stayed in person. I made the mental leap that SAT tests hosted at those private schools would likely be held while the publics canceled going forward. Guess what? My son took the SAT as many times as he wanted at one particular private school while everywhere else locally shut things down, and it was only a 15 minute drive from home. More importantly, that testing center was located on the public transit line as well, so anyone could have gotten there.
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The closures were much higher (and seats much more limited) when the Covid danger was higher, but even for this Saturday’s SAT, there are 24 Closed Test Centers in California so far. No “makeup dates” are posted. (The website doesn’t list reasons for the closures.)
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Zero problem taking ACT in south side of Chicago. DS signed up for Feb 21 and Apr 21 (backup in case Feb was cancelled). Sat for both and neither was full. Private school that most kiddos get to via public transportation.
Absolutely! That is why we offered it at school for them, too.
We also had kids get a ride somewhere only to show up to a site where it had been canceled, but they never told ACT or anyone. We felt so bad for them.
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SAT cancelled 7 times in a row before I actually tested, so maybe.
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