And then this happens:
Is this different than the other Bay Area place where there were wifi issues? If so…yikes. That was mentioned on some other thread…I can’t find it!
An earlier, now closed, thread on the topic
The expectation is that this thread won’t devolve into politics and debate.
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Ha…no that was it. I was the OP. Honestly, I am a fan of testing. It was just a frustrating experience obviously. First world problem…sure. CA definitely does not require it nor do all schools participate in SAT day.
The most striking part of the day was seeing how many motivated kids were out there. Regardless of why…there they were before 745 in an amazing line wrapping around the Marriott in Downtown Oakland. As the article said this was just an added site. There were kids from all over the Bay Area. There is demand. But as we sat in standard crappy Sat I-80 traffic heading home it dawned on us that the potential benefit was not worth the effort. Good luck to all who keep fighting the good fight…
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I feel bad for the kids in line, but such things are to be expected in CA as the state publics no longer use testing, so testing sites will be difficult to find and operate.
I didn’t understand why UCs were test blind and not TO. Now I get it…
Just to clarify , the UCs did NOT go test blind because of a shortage of testing sites.
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Really? What was it then…I feel like that makes sense.
Court order.
Having answered the question, further details can be accessed via your favorite search engine, let’s refrain from going off-topic
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They don’t have to be.
CollegeBoard makes plenty of revenues/profits, enough to run weekend testing sites across the country (CB ran the canceled test at the Marriott Oakland.)
The system is broken in some areas because schools, admin, and staff refuse to run weekend tests. Some schools still run some tests, but not as many seats as pre-pandemic. Regardless what anyone thinks about that decision, that’s where things stand, especially on the west coast.
Another issue that some articles touched upon is that California doesn’t have adequate broadband access in some relatively poor areas. Oakland's canceled SAT debacle points to broader testing and equity concerns statewide
How much network connectivity does the digital SAT need? I.e. does it need enough that a few hundred test takers could overload the wifi or internet connection of a large upper-middle-range hotel?
I don’t know the answer to that, but this specific test was over 1,000 students. I’m not sure how large that hotel is, or if it was the Marriott City Center, next to the Convention Center…so there could have been a great deal of demand in that area that CB didn’t adequately plan for, but I’m not sure.
Anyhow, the digital SAT poses some new and different factors that test administrators, high school IT staff, etc. have to plan for.
I’ve spent a lot of my life in hotel meeting rooms and can verify that hotel WiFi can easily be overwhelmed if a lot of people are using it at the same time. It’s a common problem at hotels.
Meant to reply to thread. Hit the wrong button
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Not sure what you mean by “refuse”. Proctoring SAT/ACT tests is not in the job description of CA Teachers or School Supers. It’s one of those nice-to-haves, but with a literacy rate that among the worst in the country, not sure testing should be on the radar much less a priority.
It is in the job description of some counselors and/or testing coordinators though (I know not many Cali schools have testing coordinators.)
Agreed.
As a CA parent of S25 and S26 who want to go out of state for college, the lack of testing in CA is VERY frustrating. We’ve been lucky because I stalk the ACT and SAT website like it’s my only job, but we have many friends who are flying to different parts of the country to test. It’s ridiculous. We know a few kids who were at the Oakland site. It’s very frustrating. For many of them it was the only test for which they could register. So now what? They don’t get to apply to certain colleges. My S25 has Tennessee, UGA, FSU, Michigan (newest CDS says they recommend testing), Indiana (Kelley) and UT Austin on his list. And for colleges that are very obviously test preferred, they are disadvantaged. CA needs to do better. Don’t want to debate the merits or not of testing. Simple fact is if you have a good score it helps you and CA kids are disadvantaged because testing is so hard to get. Oh and I need to add since it was said above, not all kids in CA are illiterate! My kids want out of CA. My S25 has had 1 B+ in his life, rest A’s. He’ll take 10 APs, 3 DE, 1 honors (honors isn’t a thing at his HS). But he’s well aware that UCSB and Cal Poly SLO (the only CA schools he has any interest in attending) are very long shots. He NEEDS to test.
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It’s difficult in the PNW as well, although not for tech reasons. I think with the state schools in California and Washington mainly test blind, there just aren’t as many testing sites.
I know my kid’s SAT was full of kids from Seattle, which is 3 hours away.
I have been getting SAT testing in the Midwest and had to travel 2.5 hours for one test and 3.5 hours for another SAT. First time I saw Ubers dropping off and picking up students traveling to and from the airport to take the SAT. Quite a hassle for a digital test since I drove by MANY other digital testing sites on my way to these exams.
Exactly. If the MCAT and Step tests and written boards for doctors can be taken at testing centers…anytime…why can’t the SAT digital be similarly set up?
Not unlimited space at these testing centers, but they are open 6 days a week for 9 or 10 hours per day.
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Not to mention the GRE…
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