On Mar. 20, the Trump Administration announced that they will not be enforcing standardized testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year. With the closing of many schools across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all SAT and ACT testing has been cancelled through May and an online version of AP exams has been announced for students across the country.

According to Education Department Secretary Betsy DeVos, “Neither students nor teachers need to be focused on high-stakes tests during this difficult time. Students are simply too unlikely to be able to perform their best in this environment.”

In light of this, the College Board announced the cancellation of the May 2, 2020 SAT, as well as makeup exams for the Mar. 14 test that were scheduled for Mar. 28. Refunds will be administered to any student who already registered for the May exam, whose March test centers were closed or who did not receive March scores because of any irregularities.

“We have not yet canceled the June 6, 2020 SAT and SAT Subject Test administration and will continue to assess its status, with the health and safety of students and educators as our top priority. We are also exploring the possibility of adding an international SAT administration later this school year,” The College Board statement read.

AP Exams will be administered at home and online through computers, tablets, and smartphones with the exception of students taking Art and Design: 2D, Art and Design: 3D, Computer Science Principles, Drawing, Research, and Seminar who will not take online exams. Scores for these courses will be based on work submitted via digital portfolios.

Additionally, students will be given the option to hand write their answers and then submit a photo of their work. The exams will be 45 minutes long and solely free-response, with a focus on topics that schools were able to cover by early March.

Students will have the option to choose between two different testing dates, which will be posted on the College Board website by April 3. For those concerned about cheating, College Board has promised the exams will combat this with plagiarism software and additional digital security tools. The exam questions are reportedly being formatted in such a way that possible cheating is averted.

For students who may lack testing tools such as a computer or smartphone or have connectivity issues, the College Board has created a form where students can directly contact a representative and alert them of their needs.

To prepare for the SAT, College Board and Khan Academy will continue to provide free resources online, including full-length practice tests and personalized learning tools for students. Beginning on Wednesday, Mar. 25, College Board will offer free AP review lessons, taught by a variety of AP teachers across the country. The lessons will center around reviewing the first three quarters of content and are meant to accompany any work AP teachers have provided for their students.

For more information about the SAT and AP Exams, view the College Board’s statement regarding their plans for standardized testing during the COVID-19 outbreak.