Nathanial Swindle

Huntington Learning Center located in Virginia Beach promotes their SAT and ACT preparation services to students on Aug. 24, 2023.

Standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are treated as a baseline for any student’s college application process, but due to the restricted learning access presented by COVID-19, many universities have opted to be test-optional for the foreseeable future.

State universities, such as the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, have extended their test-optional policy up until the fall 2025 admission cycles, while others such as Old Dominion, William and Mary and James Madison either have been or are test-optional indefinitely.

Starting March 2024, the U.S.-issued SAT will be strictly digital, replacing the paper version of the test as well as shortening it by nearly an hour.

“It is important that students take the SAT/ACT in that it allows for a standardized measure of student strengths and readiness for rigorous academic work. If a student performs well on standardized tests, taking the SAT/ACT can only benefit them,” said Brandy Bertucci, a SAT English tutor and Landstown Middle School literacy coach.