The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County today approved a contract with College Board that will allow Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) to administer the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) to all high school juniors beginning this school year.
AACPS had administered the ACT college entrance exam to all juniors free of charge for the last two years. The contract approved by the Board today enables the school system to expand college opportunities for students by offering the SAT preparatory assessment in the fall followed by the SAT in the spring.
Free administration of the ACT by AACPS will not be offered this year.
“Our data analysis shows that our juniors who take the SAT generally do better with College and Career Readiness measures, so the opportunity to offer this package to all of our juniors is one that we believe is worthwhile,” Superintendent George Arlotto said. “Last year, approximately 2,300 of our high school juniors took the SAT on their own. With this arrangement, we will be able to offer both the PSAT and SAT to approximately 5,900 juniors for free and help open doors to postsecondary education that may otherwise have remained closed.”
High school juniors will take the PSAT during regular school hours on Wednesday, October 10, 2018. The SAT will be administered during regular school hours on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. There is no need for parents of juniors to register for either assessment.
Students in grades 9 and 10 who wish to take the PSAT may do so at cost by signing up for the March 2, 2019, administration of the assessment. Individual schools will inform students of the process for registration later this semester.