On Monday, February 29, 2016, some test takers registered for the first administration of the new SAT on Saturday, March 5, 2016 received emails from the College Board indicating that they will not be admitted to the March test. Instead, their registration will be reassigned to the May exam.
At this point, all of the affected test takers appear to be non-students. In other words, the people who have been moved are test prep professionals, teachers, college counselors, and community members who had registered to take the first administration of the redesigned SAT. Most of these people had registered to take the test in order to get a better sense of the new exam, to ensure the new exam aligns with all of the information already released by the College Board, and to better advise students on the new test. This audience also includes a few non-traditional students over the age of 21, including military personnel who need to take standardized tests to qualify for military programs as well as older students planning to return to college later in life.*
According to the College Board’s email: "Due to a new test security measure, your registration for the March 5, 2016, administration of the SAT® has been transferred to the administration on May 7, 2016. This change was implemented to ensure that everyone taking the test is doing so for its intended purpose: to apply to and attend a college or university undergraduate program, or to apply for scholarships, financial aid, or other programs that require a college admission test."
College Board representatives have thus far declined to provide any additional details or information, citing “a security review” that resulted in “additional measures to ensure the test is taken by those people who have deadlines for college applications.”
*If you find yourself in this situation, check your registration and call the College Board today to file an appeal. The College Board is working hard to ensure students with legitimate application needs make it to the test. This process usually takes 24-48 hours, so today (March 1) is the ideal day to contact them.
Update (March 2)
The Washington Post published this article outlining the announcement.
We highlighted the most important points below:
The decision by the College Board to move non-students from the March 5 test date to the May exam date was due to an uncharacteristically large number of test takers registered who were "older adults" (over the age of 21) for this March administration.
The main reasoning behind this move? Security. The College Board wants to ensure that the test is not leaked. They plan to release a copy of the March test but no copy of the May exam after its administration. The College Board does not release some official exams because they reuse questions in other months/years (which is apparently the plan with the March exam). With several accounts of cheating over the last few years, it makes sense that the College Board wants to take extreme security measures.
Other speculations include the College Board not feeling 100% confident in its first administration and would prefer that no experts be in the room. Or, the College Board has not yet nailed down its grading process sufficiently (e.g. essay graders, curves, etc.) so dealing with a smaller sample size the first time the redesigned SAT is administered will help them meet the scoring deadline of May 10.
Note: While the test prep experts at ArborBridge had anticipated sitting for the first administration of the redesigned SAT in order to further inform our students, we fully understand the College Board making test security its first and foremost priority.
