SAT, ACT participation remains below pre-pandemic levels
SAT、ACT的参与度仍低于大流行前水平
Dive Brief:
核心摘要：
Five years after COVID-19 shut down classrooms and shifted college admissions testing policies, the SAT and ACT are still drawing fewer students than during pre-pandemic years.
新冠疫情导致课堂关闭、大学录取考试政策调整的五年后，SAT 和 ACT 的考生人数仍少于疫情前年份。
Some 1.38 million students took the ACT in 2025 compared to 1.78 million in 2019, and about 2 million students took the SAT this year versus 2.22 million in 2019, data released recently by the testing companies show.
考试机构近期发布的数据显示，2025 年约有 138 万名学生参加 ACT 考试（2019 年为 178 万人），而今年约 200 万名学生参加 SAT 考试（2019 年为 222 万人）。
SAT scores, meanwhile, increased only slightly from the high school class of 2024 to the class of 2025, while ACT scores stayed about level. In both cases, scores fell below those from the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
与此同时，SAT 成绩从 2024 届高中毕业生到 2025 届仅小幅上升，ACT 成绩则基本持平。但两项考试的成绩均低于 2019 年疫情前水平。
Dive Insight:
深度解析：
The slight uptick in SAT scores and level ACT scores for the high school graduating class of 2025 are still positive trends compared to last year, when average scores on both tests declined year-over-year compared to 2023.
与 2024 届（两项考试平均分较 2023 届同比下降）相比，2025 届高中毕业生的 SAT 成绩小幅回升、ACT 成绩持平，仍属于积极趋势。
Still, SAT scores were still “substantially lower than average scores prior to the pandemic," said College Board, the organization that publishes the test. In 2025, average SAT scores were 521 in reading and writing and 508 in math. In 2019, those averages were 10 points higher for reading and writing (531) and 20 points higher for math (528).
不过，SAT 命题机构美国大学理事会（College Board）表示，其成绩仍 “显著低于疫情前的平均分”。2025 年，SAT 阅读与写作平均分为 521 分，数学为 508 分；2019 年这两项数据分别为 531 分（阅读与写作高出 10 分）和 528 分（数学高出 20 分）。
The ACT average composite score, 19.4, also fell lower than the 2019 score of 20.7.
ACT 综合平均分为 19.4 分，同样低于 2019 年的 20.7 分。
For ACT test-takers, 30% met three or more of the four college readiness benchmarks in English, math, reading and science. The ACT benchmarks indicate that students have a 50% chance of earning a B or better in first-year college courses of the same subject and a 75% chance of a C or better.
对于 ACT 考生而言，30% 的人达到了英语、数学、阅读和科学四门学科中三项及以上的大学入学准备基准。该基准表明，达到标准的学生在大学对应学科的第一学年课程中，有 50% 的概率取得 B 及以上成绩，75% 的概率取得 C 及以上成绩。
Meanwhile, the dip in overall test takers for both exams continues a trend that dates to at least the pandemic, when colleges shifted toward test-optional policies. For the ACT, however, the numbers began declining much earlier.
与此同时，两项考试的整体考生人数下滑趋势至少可追溯至疫情时期 —— 当时大学纷纷转向 “可选提交考试成绩” 政策。但 ACT 的考生人数早在更久之前就已开始下降。
While testing experts had expected the pandemic to trigger a shift away from K-12 standardized tests, that didn't materialize to a great degree and standardized and high-stakes testing are still core to K-12.
尽管考试专家曾预计疫情会引发 K-12 阶段标准化考试的变革，但这一预期并未大规模实现，标准化考试和高风险考试仍是 K-12 教育的核心组成部分。
More than 90% of four-year colleges in the U.S. were not expected to require applicants for fall 2026 admission to submit ACT or SAT scores, according to data released in September by FairTest, a nonprofit that advocates for limiting college entrance exams. That's over 2,000 of the nation's bachelor-degree granting institutions.
倡导限制大学入学考试的非营利组织 “公平考试”（FairTest）9 月发布的数据显示，预计美国超过 90% 的四年制大学不会要求 2026 年秋季入学申请者提交 ACT 或 SAT 成绩。这一数字涵盖了全国 2000 多所授予学士学位的院校。
Since fall 2020, the number of test-optional or test-free colleges have increased overall, the organization's annual count shows.
该组织的年度统计显示，自 2020 年秋季以来，实行 “可选提交考试成绩” 或 “免考试成绩” 政策的大学数量总体呈上升趋势。
In the meantime, FairTest said the number of institutions requiring entrance exams minimally increased — from 154 for fall 2025 admissions to 160 for fall 2026 admissions.
同时，“公平考试” 指出，要求提交入学考试成绩的院校数量略有增加 —— 从 2025 年秋季入学的 154 所增至 2026 年秋季入学的 160 所。
“While a handful of schools have reinstated testing requirements over the past two admissions cycles for a variety of institutional reasons and in response to external pressures, ACT/SAT-optional and test-blind/score-free policies remain the normal baseline in undergraduate admissions,” said FairTest Executive Director Harry Feder in a September statement. “Test-optional policies continue to dominate at national universities, state flagships, and selective liberal arts colleges.”
“公平考试” 执行董事哈里・费德在 9 月的一份声明中表示：“尽管在过去两个录取周期中，有少数学校因各种机构原因及外部压力恢复了考试要求，但‘ACT/SAT 可选提交’及‘不看考试成绩 / 免提交成绩’政策仍是本科录取的常规基准。这类可选提交政策在全国性大学、州立旗舰大学和顶尖文理学院中仍占主导地位。”
