Did you know that the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is about to become the state-administrated exam for all high-school age students in Colorado? As recently as last year it was the ACT that students anxiously prepared for, but as of April of this year, 2017, it’s the SAT. Of course, colleges can decide which they’d prefer and students can take the ACT instead – or probably, in addition – if they want, but Colorado has chosen the SAT as the test everyone gets to take.
But are you ready? Is your child ready? Online test prep company Testive reached out to tell me about these changes and answered a couple of key questions both:
How is the SAT “new in Colorado schools”?
Colorado 11th graders have been required to take a college entrance exam, and the state also needs assessments of teaching and learning. Since 2001, students have taken the ACT as the college entrance exam, and more recently, the PARCC test as means to measure progress against learning standards. In 2015, as part of the states test procurement process, the Colorado Department of Education decided to drop both of these tests for 11th grade students and for the first time ever switch to using the SAT as the college entrance exam.
This means every junior in the state attending public school or public charter school will be taking the SAT, for free in school, on April 11th, 2017, while sophomores will be taking the PSAT on April 11th or April 12th depending on district. What this means? Students should make this test count and prepare for the SAT as they would any real college entrance exam sitting.
When did the SAT become mandatory?
Since 2001, the ACT has been the mandatory exam. The Colorado Department of Education announced the decision to switch from the ACT to the SAT as the states mandatory college entrance exam on December 23rd, 2015. The original intention was to begin this transition to the SAT in the spring of 2016, however, the rollout date was pushed out to April 11th, 2017 to give administrators, teachers, and students more time to prepare for the change.
Other helpful links to read about the change are here.
- Official College Board + Colorado Partnership Page
- Parents Survival Guide: The Colorado SAT [Free Ebook For Parents]
- Online SAT Course For Colorado Families [Free until Feb. 28th]
- Colorado Changed To The SAT in 2017: What you need to know
And now ya know. Better get ready, parents!