Does my child still need to take the SAT if schools are test-optional?

Ah yes, the test-optional twist! While many colleges have kept their test-optional policies post-pandemic, that doesn’t mean the SAT is irrelevant—especially if your child is applying from a hyper-competitive city like Washington, D.C. A strong SAT score can still be the secret weapon that tips an application from solid to standout. It adds another data point to support your child’s academic strength and helps admissions officers compare them across different grading systems and schools.

And let’s be honest: “optional” doesn’t mean “invisible.” If your child’s GPA is great but the high school isn’t nationally known, an SAT score can validate their academic chops. If they’re homeschooled, it’s a helpful benchmark. And for merit scholarships? Yep—many still require scores. At Cardinal Education, we recommend testing and then deciding whether or not to submit the score based on the results. Think of it as giving your child one more chance to shine—and who doesn’t want that?