SAT, ACT Exams Postponed Due to Coronavirus

A student uses a Princeton Review SAT Preparation book to study for the test in Pembroke Pines, Fla., on March 6, 2014. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

High school students across the United States once again find their academic plans interrupted, as key college entrance exams are being postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The College Board wrote on Twitter that the May 2 SAT and SAT Subject Tests as well as the March makeup exams have been canceled.

“In response to COVID-19, we’re canceling the May 2 SAT, as well as March makeup exams,” said the New York-based testing company, adding that registered students will receive a refund.  “We will provide additional SAT testing opportunities as soon as feasible in place of canceled administrations.”

The decision comes as hundreds of high schools and colleges that were designated test sites canceled the March 14 SAT over the weekend. Some school districts notified the College Board about the cancelation, while some did not. In Maine, the Portland School District canceled the test and didn’t report that to the College Board, according to The Portland Press Herald. That resulted in students showing up to the school only to find no one around and doors closed. They eventually left.

The next SAT is scheduled for June 6 and has not yet been canceled. College Board says it will re-schedule it “as soon as possible in place of canceled administrations.”

The Iowa-based ACT, Inc. which administers ACT exams, wrote on Twitter Monday that all test takers registered for April 4 will be offered the chance to reschedule for June 13 or another future test date.

The coronavirus outbreak has already forced College Board to cancel the March 14 test for all registered students in China, as well as those who plan to travel from China to testing locations in other countries. Many Chinese students travel to nearby Asian countries to take the SAT. Popular destinations include South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore—all of which have reported cases of the coronavirus, which causes a disease called COVID-19.

These cancelations are likely to affect high school juniors the most. In the United States, most students take the tests for the first time in the spring of their junior year and some take it a second time in the fall of their senior year before the college application deadlines.