ACT and SAT testing dates canceled due to the pandemic and hurricane season

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - As if adjusting to new learning methods wasn’t challenging enough for the Class of 2021, high school seniors and their families are facing another roadblock, college entrance exams.

“Yeah, I was just worried because applying to college was just crazy. Now, like with what they want. So, I was just kind of worried if this affects me how are college applications going to go. I was just really nervous about that, making sure I get the score even with everything going on,” says Blake Edwards who is a senior at Catholic High.

Edwards isn’t alone, many high school students looking to improve their scores to get scholarships are improved their chances to qualify for TOPS are finding it difficult to take a test. Whether it’s a COVID capacity issue or mother nature, testing dates are few and far between.

“As a parent, yeah absolutely, you want to put your kid in the best chance of success and when you do that, and they work very hard test prep…and they are not given that opportunity it becomes very frustrating,” says Kevin Hayes who has a son about to graduate high school.

The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) is making some exceptions for students by giving them extensions to reschedule their ACT/SAT testing.

“This year because of COVID, because of the hurricanes that’s not a final thing. Those students still have time, they have until December 31st of this year, 2020, to either attain a qualifying score, or attain a higher score. And even if LOSFA is already on their eligibility, we will go back and rerun if we get a higher score,” says Sujuan Boutte who is the executive director of LOSFA.

While some colleges and universities are not requiring standardized test scores for entrance next year…LOSFA says the Class of 2021 will have until April to get that qualifying test completed.

If you are having a problem trying to reschedule your ACT date, you can contact the LOSFA on their website.