Long drive, high stakes: SAT Journey

 In recent years, students across the US struggled to access testing centers near their homes. Some students even had to fly to other states to take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Testing) test. For something that is required by most colleges in the US, standardized tests have become too hard and too expensive for many high school students to access.

The issue of standardized testing access is especially prevalent in the Bay Area; with so many students around, there was always bound to be a shortage. After the pandemic, there was a major decrease in testing centers around the Bay Area. As a result, many students have found themselves driving over 2 hours just to take either the SAT or ACT. 

Recently, because of these access issues, there have been some questions about the equitability of these tests. Colleges use the ACT and SAT to determine whether or not a student is ready for college, but because of recent closures of test sites, students no longer have equal access to testing centers. Taking a flight and then booking a hotel just to take a test isn’t something everyone can afford, so, for some, waking up at 4 am to take the test simply becomes a reality they must endure. 

Another issue is the confusion around when registration first opens. When you first register for either the SAT or ACT, testing centers close to students in the Bay Area fill up quickly. However, if you try to look for different testing sites after the fact, for some reason, it is so much easier to switch to local testing sites. 

A recent poll of 72 upper school students asked how far people drive to sit for an SAT or ACT. While the majority of students reported that they didn’t have to drive more than 2 hours, significant numbers did, with almost a third of students replying with data that show they drove upwards of 2 hours. It can be imagined the strain and toll sparse SAT locations take on students who have to travel that far. Junior Alex Zhu said, “At first, I was registered for a test in Washington, but when I was looking at testing sites a couple of months later, I saw that there were openings locally, and immediately switched.” 

As a result, it should be considered whether the SAT and ACT can still be considered an equitable way to test students since wealthier students will be able to fly across the country to take one test, while others will be forced to drive 3-4 hours for the test. The fact that they are getting so little sleep to prepare for the test, which affects their mental development, and that they are driving to these test sites on 4-5 hours of sleep, which can be incredibly dangerous, should be an indicator to the administrators of the standardized tests to increase availability.