Nightmares really do come true? Hundreds of students have to retake the SAT and here’s why
Ask any student in the American education system: Standardized tests are the bane of their existence. They’re hours-long affairs that focus on things like whether you know how to spell and define “mellifluous” and how much you remember from pre-calculus (never enough), but at least once you take it, that year’s Big Deal is over — and in high school, the Biggest Deal of all is the SAT, which once conquered, is thankfully in your rearview mirror… right?
Not so, for at least 300 students in Loudoun County, Virginia: After the College Board didn’t receive their tests, these poor souls have to take the test again on June 20, smack dab in the middle of their finals. The students received the news about as well as you’d expect.
16-year-old student Victoria Brown told local outlet WJLA, “Someone texted me today and they’re like, ‘We have to retake them. They lost our scores.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.” Other students wondered about how their delayed scores would affect college applications prospects.
Probably the most infuriating part of the entire ordeal for both the students and the parents has been the fact that the College Board has yet to issue an official, comprehensive statement — not just in general, but even to the students and families directly affected. That’s right: Many students found out about the snafu from other students, in a game of Telephone that’s cast an entire class under a blanket of anxiety.
When confused and angry parents reached out to the College Board as to how to proceed for a re-test, they were given conflicting and unhelpful instructions. According to WJLA, one parent was told “if a student could find a spot for a test session being held this weekend, a student could do that, but would have to pay a $25 ‘late fee’ in addition to the test’s $80 cost.” Insult: Meet injury.
More and more students (and John Oliver) have been challenging the merit of annual standardized testing, as implemented by George W. Bush’s enduring No Child Left Behind education policy, but when it comes to college admissions, the SAT is still a huge part of your application; not taking it before the summer after junior year can seriously mess with your admissions timeline. Here’s hoping everyone affected by the College Board’s mistake gets through the re-test and their admissions okay; everyone else, reach out to the College Board to check on the status of your test, since apparently, they won’t.
(Image via Shutterstock.)
