The coronavirus has changed a lot of things, including the ACT and SAT.

The College Board, which administers the SAT, cancelled the May 2, 2020 test. The College Board also cancelled the June 6, 2020 test date but will be holding its already scheduled August 29, October 3, November 7, and December 5 tests, including a new September date. Students can register for these administrations starting in May.

The ACT test originally set for April 4 has been rescheduled to June 13. (You can register for that date online. Be sure to register by May 8.)

“The deadline to apply for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is July 1 using the Arkansas Division of Higher Education’s portal called YOUniversal,” says Alisha Lewis, associate director of communications. “This deadline allows high school graduates to take the ACT on the national testing date of June 13 and have the scores in time for the July deadline. If students want to use their ACT superscore for eligibility, they can still apply, selecting they have met the ACT requirement of 19, and then our team will validate.”

Schools use standardized test scores to determine financial aid and scholarship eligibility as well as admission requirements. But in a time where students can’t actually take those tests before they start college in the fall, schools around the country are not requiring those scores for the time being. Arkansas schools that are participating in that trend include Southern Arkansas University. The school is waiving testing requirements for applicants with high school GPAs of 2.3 or above for the 2020 school year.

According to FairTest, other Arkansas colleges that are "test optional," "test flexible" or otherwise de-emphasize the use of standardized tests by making admissions decisions without using ACT or SAT scores for all or many applicants who recently graduated from U.S. high schools include: Arkansas Baptist College, Arkansas Tech University, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, University of Arkansas at Monticello and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

“Almost all of the Arkansas community colleges have open admission, meaning there is no GPA or ACT score requirement for admission,” Lewis says. “Some universities also have open admission, while some use a combination of other criteria for admission.”

The ACT also announced new options for students taking the test effective in September of 2020. Those changes include the option to superscore, which means you can take the average of your four best subject scores from each ACT test attempt and it will count as your official score. Students will also be able to re-take specific test sections that they want to improve, without having to take the full test.