It’s not that he’s necessarily looking forward to it, but Chris Leone says the state’s decision to drop the SBAC standardized test for the SAT was the right one.

“It’s definitely a better alternative in helping us prepare for the actual thing,” the junior said.

The test will be administered at DHS on Wednesday, March 2 during a school day. With no essay component, it is expected to last three hours and will be scored out of 1,600 points.

This year, DHS and high schools across the state will have their juniors sit for the SAT instead of SBAC, which was dropped as the state’s measuring tool last year after many parents across Connecticut opted out their children from taking the test.

With Common Core State Standards and federally mandated standardized tests to measure student growth causing controversy, many parents across the country chose to keep their children home on testing days. 

Since most college-bound students take the SAT and/or ACT as a prerequisite to apply to college, state officials and school administrators hope students and parents will see an actual benefit of taking the exam. Students do not have to pay a fee to sit for the exam.  Scores of students will also be available to colleges, they’re also going to be new accommodations presented to students.

Changes include students, don’t lose a points for an incorrect responses, only four answer options to the previous 5, use of primary & secondary sources documents, etc…

“The SATs are no different than the CAPT examination given to 10th-graders,” said Sean Colley, one of DHS’s test coordinators. “They are required for state accountability scores, and have the added benefit of presenting scores to colleges.”

On Thursday, March 3, the school will administer CAPT in science to all sophomores, including repeat 10th-graders. The test will begin at 7:20 a.m. and end at about 10 a.m. If there is a delayed opening, the testing will begin at 9:20. Should there be a cancellation of school, the test would move to Friday, March 4.