The GMAT is online. But I continue to think that before the college 2021 deadlines, there will be several, maybe even many, in person testing dates available.
Adding just to say S19 tried to use Kahn to study for SAT and gave up because he just did not like doing it online. Interesting that so far no one here thinks itās an issue.
College Board has been working on an online test, to be given at test centers, for years now and has not been able to make it happen, probably for a multitude of reasons including hardware needs. If high schools are open for in-person classes this fall, there will be on-paper test dates, period. If high schools arenāt open, my guess is that College Board will roll out its half-baked at-home product. Either way, lots of colleges will be test-optional this fall simply to avoid losing application numbers compared to other colleges.
I totally think itās an issue. I would be very frustrated if my S21 had to take ACT or SAT online for all the same reasons you listed.
@homerdog Way back up the thread we had a bit of a discussion about this. My kidsā HS is virtually paper free. Each freshman is issued an iPad and they use it for four years (and then own it). They donāt have any paper textbooks - and take all their notes on notability. Most kids use Apple pencils so they can take handwritten notes, highlight, etc. They are experts at split screening. I do believe some tests are on paper, but I donāt think it would be a great leap/inconvenience for anyone in the school to take a test like the SAT/ACT online - especially if you can skip questions, and annotate.
@homerdog Perhaps you can encourage your daughter to take a few of the online SAT tests online only just in case this becomes the only way for her to take the SAT again. DS did almost all of his math online via AoPS and is comfortable with learning and taking tests online but he did not like it at first. I am sure if your daughter does it a few times she will like it better plus given the unpredictable future, this might come in handy for her.
@yearstogo yeah we will have her do that if I start sensing that online will be the only option
@3kids2dogs all of our high school kids have chrome books but still read mostly hard copy stuff. Most tests and homework - definitely all math tests and homework - are paper and pencil. Dās got regular textbooks for all classes. She uses her chrome book mostly for writing assignments in AP Lang.
Itās not like everything switches to electronic books in college. S19ās math teacher gives her own problem sets via her website so thatās electronic but homework is done on paper and turned in. Same for physics. In his history and art history classes, the profs have given hard copy articles to read as well as hard copy novels and non-fiction to read. I think some of them are available electronically but S19 always buys the hard copies and most of his friends do as well.
I donāt think the SAT/ACT online at home is good idea, too many kids would have a clear disadvantage.
Colleges should all go test optional if no test can be given in the summer or fall.
@Aguadecoco but CB would stand to lose a lot of money so they will figure out online testing if they have no other option.
Many (Maybe all?) Graduate or professional school entrance exams are only available online at a testing center. The LSAT, GMAT,maybe the GRE? Donāt know about the MCAT.
NJās standardized tests, PARCC, were an unmitigated disaster. Districts had to provide technology, so poor districts were at a disadvantage from the get go. Click the wrong spot, test is closed and you canāt go back in. Not to mention how many times the system crashed when a large percent of every 9th grader in the state tried logging in at the same time. I pulled S17 for college visits his junior year the day of the tests - kids sat in the room from 7:30 until about 10:30 or so because the system crashed. They finally pulled the plug and had to schedule a make up day. I think it would be almost impossible for College Board to throw this together in a couple months. Not to mention kids in rural areas that have spotty/slow internet. So many variables.
Our daughter doesnāt want to do any tests online. Even though she works a fair amount online, she says itās just easier for her to think through things when she writes them out. I canāt imagine online will be the only option. Even though they are introducing a digital ACT for the fall, you can opt for the written test. I agree that CB will do whatever they can to make back lost revenue, but far too many kids in this country donāt have enough consistent access to online learning to make it fair to go exclusively in that direction any time soon.
I think itās harder to read and take tests online when you havenāt been used to doing that. Our school was set to be a test center for the online version of the ACT in March or April, whenever the cancelled ACT was, so kids at our school could take it for free. Our S changed his test site and paid for his so he wouldnāt have to do it online. Hereās hoping for a paper and pencil ACT/SAT sooner rather than later!
@NJWrestlingmom Iāve been saying something similar on another thread about testing. Even if there is a computer version of ACT/SAT, I doubt that it was designed for at home testing. I would question results that were not proctored on site.
@homerdog D is a huge annotator too. no she never did an online test. Huge annotator. Hoping they can get a regular test in!!!
@homerdog my S21 has done two practice SATs online. He didnāt like it. This was last summer, before he took the real SAT. He scored 120 points better on the real thing - not sure how much of that was related to the awkwardness of taking the practice test online, but Iād guess at least some of it was.
I tutor for the the GMAT which has been online for years. Many years ago I took the GMAT when it was a paper based test. Then more recently (but still years ago) I took the online version in a testing center once GMAC had shifted to an online test because I wanted to experience it to understand the online experience to be able to better teach my students. As others have mentioned, not being able to annotate passages, not being able to mark up drawings, reading on a screen, having to copy problems down, etc. - itās all an issue in terms of the user experience, how much time it takes to complete a question, etc. (The GMAT also became a computer adaptive test - not every student sees the same set of problems. The test adapts based on what you get right and wrong. It dials in the level of difficulty to you. As a result, they are able to evaluate your performance with fewer questions). I actually got the identical score on the paper based test (with twice as many questions) that I got on the computer based computer adaptive shorter test. But the fact that I tutor the test is related to the fact that I am suited to taking these kinds of tests - SAT, GRE, GMATā¦so the online thing doesnāt throw me as much, but I still dislike it as do most of my GMAT students. So, yes, I think the online format is an issue (and that doesnāt even cover the additional issues related to testing at home - possibilities for cheating and the awkward feeling of having someone watch you through your computer). Sigh. Iām with @havenoidea - hoping for a paper and pencil test sooner rather than later.
I am also hoping for a paper test for everybody who needs one. I think that by midsummer social distancing will still be in place but possibly will be more relaxed. So there could be more testing centers, kids spread wider apart, more proctors. This would be more expensive and would require some logistical legwork on the part of the CB but might be potentially doable.
I am not a big fan of the AP solution. To go from 3+ hours to 45 minutes was too big a leap for me. A middle compromise - say a 1.5 hour test that incorporated both free response and multiple choice - I would have liked better. But then again, Iām not dealing with having to make that conversion so quickly so there are probably issues that havenāt occurred to me.
I think that grades as usual, or Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit, or grade canāt fall below what it was as of mid March are all reasonable solutions. And what makes the most sense will depend a lot on the demographics and resources of a given school. But the idea that a 60+ = 100, I find a bit baffling. I also think that the kids will have less incentive to do their best if they know that their effort will not be rewarded or documented.
I donāt mean to imply that I want paper and pencil tests to go away. I absolutely think that kids should continue to have that option. Actually, Iām feeling better and better by the day that the tests will be administered as usual (maybe with a few physical modifications, - fewer kids at a site, with more administrations, etc)
Iāve made this point a number of times, but I really believe that not only will in-person ACT/SAT tests be available by the late summer at the latest, but also that there is almost no chance that K-12 and colleges will not open next fall.
Obviously, there are going to be procedures for maintaining some containment of COVID-19, as well as for protecting the most vulnerable, but the virulence of the disease is just not what was expected (although obviously it is terrible for those affected). Already, it seems that both the governmental authorities as well as the media are beginning to prepare the country for a āreopeningā and it is not even May yet. Decisions on school reopening will need to be made by mid-summer at the latest, but by then I fully expect that the numbers of COVID hospitalizations and deaths will be very low.
Just FYI, my junior got an invite to apply to the Windows on Williams (WoW) program yesterday, so at least Williams is going through the motions with its early fall residential fly-in program. Also, summer math camp has not been canceled yet, and there are even some rumors that it is actually going to go ahead (starts in early July in a region not terribly affected by the disease). Fingers crossed!
(Also, just FYI, Williams is still requesting SAT, ACT, AP, and subject test scores if applicants to WoW want to provide them.)
Miami University is still seeking applications to it summer scholars program that is held on campus in mid to late July