With recent news that the CSU/UC campuses are evaluating whether to require SAT or ACT college entrance exam results and the rise of private schools that have already gone test optional, students are wondering if they should continue to prepare or take the college entrance exams. Since the outcome of these decisions may not be put into place until Fall 2021 or later and some private schools will certainly keep the testing requirements, our advice is to continue to prepare and take the exams as usual. Most students do not create their final list of schools until the summer before Senior year and if a college entrance exam ends up being a requirement at one of those schools, students will not want to scramble at the last minute to complete an exam unprepared.
Before students get too excited about the possibility of a college admissions process without having to take the SAT or ACT, remember that schools use these as one of the tools to evaluate candidates so if the tests no longer factor into the mix, other factors like high school grades and class ranking will become an even bigger part of the decision making process for college admissions counselors. The best plan for students is to prepare for the SAT/ACT, keep their grades up, and continue with a course load that reflects that they are up for the challenge of college.
