We’re all hopeful the pandemic is finally on the wane, and as case counts around us start to drop, life may start to return to some semblance of what it was before.  However, tests taken in the spring season (March – June) are likely to still be operating under restrictions, and threat of cancellations.  So what steps should students take?

First and foremost, students and parents should keep an eye on their test center to make sure it will be open for the test.  You can check on SAT testing at the College Board’s closure page here, and on ACT testing here.  Even if the page lists the center as open, ALWAYS give them a call the day before the test to make sure they will be conducting it the next day.  If you find out it is closed, be prepared to wait on hold a *long* time to try and find another nearby test center, but several of our students have been able to pull off the last-minute change.

The second thing to keep in mind is that students should be sticking to their testing plan as if the test will go forward regardless.  Occasionally students will have in the back of their mind that “my test might be cancelled”, and use that as an excuse to not go the extra mile during their preparation period.  In truth, we hear a lot of excuses that high schoolers have for not completing all their work, but this is one that they definitely should not count on being bailed out if they don’t do their work.

Last, if they are not already used to wearing masks for hours at a time, they should definitely be doing so for all practice tests.  Different people have different tolerance levels for masks, but it’s definitely something to get used to if they’re not accustomed to having it on for 4+ hours.  Taking in person proctored tests at our tutoring centers is a great place to practice this.