2019-2020 ACT and SAT Exam Dates
The Goal
Ideally all juniors will finish taking the ACT / SAT by the end of the school year. This includes all attempts at taking each exam. The goal is to head into the summer before your senior year knowing your test scores and free to focus on college applications (instead of more studying for standardized tests.)
Start With the End in Mind
In order to stay on track to meet the testing goal of all attempts completed during junior year, you should get some dates on the calendar now. My planning tips include:
- Identify your initial test and test date (for example the December ACT)
- Work backwards 6-8 weeks to start test prep
- Allow time to retake (typically students make 2-3 attempts)
Test Dates
Here are the test dates for the 2019-2020 school year.
ACT
Register directly with ACT: https://www.act.org
- September 14
- October 26
- December 14
- February 8
- April 4
- June 13
- July 18
SAT
Register directly with College Board: https://www.collegeboard.org
- August 24
- October 5
- November 2
- December 7
- March 14
- May 2
- June 6
PSAT
Register for the PSAT with your high school guidance counselor. Homeschool students should contact a local high school to register.
- Wednesday, October 16 (primary test date)
- Saturday, October 19 (may be offered by some schools)
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Mandy
Hi,
My son is a a 9th grader freshman. I would like him to try the PSAT this October to see what his baseline is. I have an impression that it is not going to be “seen” by the college board but just a pure practice.
Anyway, I was told that his own high school does not offer PSAT for 9th grader. It is only offered for Sophomore or Junior. Is that a website that I can go to to find out which school nearby offers it? I have tried three school and none of them offered it.
Thanks
Megan Dorsey
Mandy,
If you are having difficulty finding a school that offers the PSAT for 9th graders, I’d recommend you have your son take a practice test at home. Your school might have the practice test booklets from College Board that contain one full-length PSAT. If not, you can print one from the College Board website:
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice/full-length-practice-tests
Your son can sit at your kitchen table and take this test under timed conditions. This is a good way to see how he is doing and what areas he may need to work on this year. The bonus of doing it this way is that you can check his work immediately. The real PSAT is given in October, but students don’t get their results until December / January and most of them have forgotten all about the PSAT by then.
Megan