Attention High School Parents and Students: New SAT Requirements Take Effect This March in Indiana Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Submitted
With the new SAT protocols being implemented this March throughout Indiana, I thought it prudent to reach out to Carmel High School (CHS) College & Career Programming and Resources Coordinator Melinda Stephan to find out the facts about the relevancy of the ACT/SAT when it comes to college and university applications in this current pandemic environment, as well as how the state’s changes to standardized testing as they relate to the SAT are going to impact Indiana high school juniors.
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ndiana high school juniors will take the SAT starting in the spring of 2022, and scores will be used to evaluate Hoosier schools’ quality. Lawmakers made the change in 2018 as part of a bill to change Indiana’s diploma structure to align with federal accountability and to align the high school exam with new graduation requirements approved by the state board.
Test-Optional vs. Test-Flexible Policies Today, more colleges and universities across the nation are going test-optional or test-flexible, either temporarily or
permanently, as a result of the pandemic. But even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, some colleges and universities had already amended their admissions policies to put less emphasis on SAT or ACT scores and more emphasis on a holistic-review approach and multiple factors when reviewing student applications. This was a response by many colleges and universities to address concerns about equity and access barriers for students seeking higher education; however, many merit-based scholarships still require ACT or SAT scores for consideration.
Stephan added, “Most of the colleges and universities that are test-optional are test-optional across the board, but you don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you’re worthy of a scholarship but you didn’t take the SAT or ACT, and now you’re not even being considered. So, it’s just better to take the test and make a decision afterwards as to whether or not you want to send in your score.” So, what is the difference between test-optional and test-flexible? Test-optional means the college or university does not require applicants to submit standardized test scores when applying for admission. Test-flexible means the college or university gives the students the option to submit other standardized test scores for consideration, such as an International Baccalaureate exam or an Advanced Placement Test, in lieu of an ACT/SAT score but are welcome to submit an ACT/SAT score if they so wish. Stephan emphasized that she and her colleagues at CHS looks at each individual student’s situation and help them decide on whether or not they should send in their ACT/SAT scores. “We’ve gotten a lot of questions in the last couple of years from parents and students,” Stephan said. “There is a list of test-optional colleges and universities in the United States, and it’s more than you realize. But there is still a handful of colleges and universities that still require test scores, and they’re usually more selective in nature. Most colleges and universities will post their middle 50%, and so we tell our students to look at that information on the [test-optional] college website, and if their middle 50% for the SAT was 1200, and the student has a 1050, you might not want to send your scores because you’re falling below that middle 50%. If your test scores fall within that 50%, then you’re in a good place to send in your scores.”
New This March—All Indiana High School Juniors Are Required to Take the SAT The SAT is the new state accountability exam required by the State of Indiana,
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