The March 8th SAT Disruption

College Board experienced a system disruption during Saturday's administration of the SAT, causing a ripple effect for 200,000 test-takers in the US and worldwide. Here, we will discuss what went wrong, the College Board's response, and what to do if your student was impacted. 

What went wrong?

During the March 8th administration of the SAT, the College Board's testing system experienced a disruption that impacted students in the US and worldwide. An oversight during the manual configuration of the test caused it to auto-submit at 11:00 am, regardless of whether students had completed it. 

The College Board has always configured the Digital SAT to auto-submit, preventing test-takers from keeping the platform open and sharing its content. Typically, auto-submits occur the evening after an exam, giving every test-taker more than enough time to complete all sections. Unfortunately, for the March 8th administration, the auto-submit timer was accidentally set for 3 hours after the exam start time of 8 am local time.

College Board became aware of the mistake as students from other countries reported the problem, some as early as 8 hours before test takers in the US were to start their exams. However, attempts by the College Board to reach testing sites were often overlooked or seen after students began the timer on their exams. By then, it was too late to follow the College Board's instructions to reboot the Bluebook app that delivers the digital SAT. Once started, the test cannot be paused, and lost time cannot be added back.

Who was impacted? 

In the US, the issue primarily impacted students whose test sites were slow to start and those with extended-time accommodations. For students who began testing after 8:36 am, tests were auto-submitted while they were still working on the math section, which is the last section of the test. Worse, for students with extended-time accommodations, many had their tests auto-submitted while still in their verbal section. 

Students who began testing by 8:36 am with standard timing (2 hours and 24 minutes) could complete their exams before the 11:00 am auto-submit. Still, students reported misguided instructions from proctors that caused them to lose time and alarmist communication from the College Board that caused them to lose focus. Even students not directly impacted by the disruption were affected by its chaotic ripple effect.

How has the College Board responded?

The College Board's immediate response was met with confusion and frustration. Initially, they told students their scores would be canceled by default and that they could not see their scores before deciding to preserve them. Furthermore, only students who chose to cancel their scores, blind, would have access to a March 22nd makeup exam.

Marigold Prep is proud to be part of a team of test prep professionals who advocated for impacted students, lobbying the College Board to change their initial response to the incident. On March 13th, the College Board emailed the following to students:

By the end of this week, we will issue a full refund of your registration fees to your original form of payment, and we will also apply a voucher to your account for a free registration for a future SAT administration.

Also, by the end of this week, you will receive an email with a preview of your score from your test. Previewing this score will allow you to make an informed decision about whether to keep your score or take a makeup exam if it's available in your area on March 22 (March 23 for Sunday testers).

College Board is extending this option to students whose exams were auto-submitted mid-test and, according to their latest FAQ, "students losing testing time because they were instructed in their room to reboot Bluebook mid-testing." While students won't have the option to keep their March 8th scores and take the March 22nd makeup, they are no longer required to make this decision blind.

What does this mean for impacted students?

If a student was impacted during Math but performed well in the Reading and Writing section and can register for a May or June exam, it may be in their best interest to keep their scores and forgo the March makeup. This way, they can preserve their Verbal section scores for Superscoring, which is when universities combine the top section scores from multiple test dates.

If students are unhappy with both of their section scores, it may be best to cancel scores and take the March 22nd makeup. While most parts of the US still have widespread availability for May and June exams, students often like to avoid SATs so close to their AP and final exams.

How can Marigold Prep help?

With many of our students impacted by the disruption, we understand how frustrating this has been and are supporting our test-takers in several ways: 

• We are working with families to create personalized preparation or "maintenance" plans that ensure a student's skills stay fresh until a later spring, summer, or fall exam.

• Our tutors and admissions experts are helping students reason through the decision to cancel or keep their scores based on their specific goals, schedules, and priorities.

• While there will always be elements of the testing environment that are out of our control, well-prepared students are better equipped to navigate stressful circumstances. Our test prep programs help students build confidence and navigate anxiety, enabling them to handle test-day surprises with resilience and fortitude.