Saniya Yamin was researching standardized testing equity for a class assignment when she learned only about half of Virginia’s high schoolers actually take the SAT exam.
Yamin, a senior at Broad Run High School in Ashburn, first thought that number was very low. But then she learned about the barriers that exist to taking the test, particularly in rural areas.
Sometimes, because of work, family obligations or distance to a testing site, it’s difficult for students to find time for the exam.
So, Yamin lobbied Loudoun County School Board members, hoping to make the exam more accessible. They appreciated the idea but said they didn’t have the availability to discuss when she pitched it.
She pivoted to state elected officials, hoping to make the SAT exam free to all Virginia students. When that idea was dismissed because of a lack of funding, she prioritized a plan requiring school boards to allow kids to take the SAT on a school day.
Inspired by Yamin’s efforts, in January. It passed through the General Assembly, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger recently signed it into law.
“It was really powerful to see how somebody’s idea can just go from something they were complaining about to their friends, to being an actual signed piece of legislation,” Yamin told 小萝莉影视. “I actually had the opportunity to go meet with Gov. Spanberger last week and discuss it with her, which was really impactful to see how much she cared about how young people have ideas.”
The plan requires school boards across the Commonwealth to participate in the SAT School Day program or similar programs that allow high schoolers to take the SAT during regular school hours on the campus where they attend.
It specifies that students aren’t required to participate in the program, and the SAT window could be offered on the same day the PSAT exam is administered.
As part of the legislation, which goes into effect July 1, each high school student should get the chance to take the exam at least once during their junior or senior year.
“Usually, you would have to go out on a Saturday morning, and make that drive to go take the SAT,” Yamin said. “But now, you could just take it during the school day, and every school board will designate a specific day.”
Fairfax County high schools already host SAT School Day for high school seniors in the fall. Prince William County schools offer juniors the chance to take the SAT during the school day too. While the new legislation doesn’t waive the cost of the exam, Virginia’s two largest school districts say the exam is offered to students at no cost.
Loudoun County, meanwhile, will offer SAT School Day to juniors for the first time in the fall. In Alexandria, juniors are automatically signed up to take the SAT. Montgomery County, Maryland’s largest school system, allows students to take the test during a school day.
In signing the legislation, Spanberger said it will “allow more students to be college ready and ensure that it isn’t an issue of logistics or cost or days for kids to be able to take the vital tests that are important to their ability to apply to college or to bring credits with them to college.”
Yamin, meanwhile, is expecting it to create new opportunities for students.
“It was just a really powerful experience, and it kind of cemented that idea in my mind that young people can make a difference, and that if you have an idea, that you should speak out about it and advocate for it,” Yamin said.
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