By Alexa Loera, GHS class of 2026
On Dec 13, Greenwich Schools Superintendent of Schools Dr. Toni Jones emailed Greenwich High School families about an issue with the Dec 2 SAT at GHS. Unfortunately, 114 students were given a previously issued SAT test utilized from October 2021, including 77 students from GHS.
At the entrance to the GHS Student Center a College Board poster advertising the SAT as a way to “Stand out to colleges” Photo: Alexa Loera
Because the College Board, which administers the test, does not accept previously used exams in order they say to “protect the integrity of the test,” the results were null and void.
Impacted students were automatically signed up to retake the test on Sat, Dec 16.
Jones said it was unclear how the wrong tests were distributed and that unfortunately students would have to take the SAT again.
“I have contacted College Board personally to request a deeper dive to understand how this happened. Their response, as of (Dec 13), has not provided a clear understanding,” Jones wrote.
“Did College Board send the old tests? Did GHS have an older box of tests sitting in the testing room from 2021?” she asked. “It is very unusual, as every test booklet is issued by number and the issuance is incredibly strict, again, to protect the integrity of the test.”
The situation was compounded because many students or their parents only learned of the issue by logging into their College Board accounts.
In fact Jones and Principal Mayo learned about the situation from a parent on Dec 12, and Jones apologized for the delay.
“We fully understand how stressful this is for our students to be faced with taking the SAT again when they should be winding down for the break,” she wrote.
The Dec 2 test was also administered to 37 students from schools other than GHS. They potentially only learned they had been scheduled for the Dec 16 retest if they logged into their College Board portal. Unfortunately, many of the private schools were already on break by Dec 16.
Coincidentally, the Dec 16 make up test was the last opportunity for a paper test before College Board moves to a new digital version.
Just before Greenwich Schools break, several GHS students who were impacted commented on the situation.
“I was extremely disappointed that the College Board notified us a mere three days before we had to retake the SAT,” said Shreya Prabhu, a junior. “It completely changed my plans for the week and was definitely an upset for many students I know and myself.”
Other students seemed to have taken the situation in stride.
“I’d say honestly the SAT is something that, at least for me, I didn’t stress myself out about too much because many factors go into applying to college and having to retake it,” said Imogen Buck, a senior.
“It really isn’t the end of the world because in the end you probably won’t even remember what your SAT score was, at least for me,” Imogen added.
Imogen said she thought people stress way too much about the SAT, given many colleges and universities have shifted to test-optional or test-blind policies.
While many colleges and universities were already moving to test-optional, many more followed suit during the pandemic when students were learning remotely and many popular SAT and ACT testing dates were canceled.
Still, Imogen pointed out, “If you are a good test taker it’s also a really great way to showcase your skills.”
“I didn’t mind retaking the SAT,” said Sofie, a junior. “It was just unfortunate that so many people had to go through that stressful test a second time.”
“It was also incredibly inconvenient that we were notified only a few days before the test was to take place, especially when it was the last opportunity to take the on paper version,” she added.
As for the new digital SAT, students will take the the test on a laptop or tablet, using a custom-built digital exam app that they will download in advance of test day.
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According to the College Board, while they plan a complete transition to digital, they will continue to support students who test with accommodations who require a paper and pencil test.
FAQs on the transition to the digital format are available on the College Board website.