A few years ago, this question felt almost settled. The SAT and ACT looked like they were on the way out. Today the picture has flipped, and Burbank families have good reason to take a fresh look.
For decades, nearly every student headed for a four year college sat for the SAT or the ACT. A higher score meant a better shot at the school of your choice. Then the pandemic arrived, testing centers closed, and a long-running debate about fairness boiled over. School after school went test-optional or test-blind. For a while, it really did seem like standardized testing might fade away for good.
That is no longer the direction things are moving. If anything, the tests are making a comeback.
The tests are returning at top colleges
Across the country, selective colleges have been bringing the SAT and ACT back. Several have already announced that scores are required again, and the list grows with each admissions cycle.
For students applying in the 2026-27 cycle, six of the eight Ivy League schools require an SAT or ACT score. Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and a growing group of others have returned to requiring scores as well. Princeton has announced it will require them starting with the 2027-28 cycle. Entire public university systems in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee now mandate test scores too.
Many of these schools point to the same conclusion: in an era of widespread grade inflation, a strong test score helps them spot capable students more reliably than grades alone, including high-achieving students from lower-income and first-generation backgrounds.
Where California stands right now
For families looking at in-state public schools, the rules are different. Both the University of California and the California State University systems remain test-blind. That means even if your student submits an SAT or ACT score, it will not be used in the admissions decision. Scores can still matter for course placement and certain scholarships once a student enrolls.
But the conversation in California is shifting. In spring 2026, hundreds of UC faculty signed a letter urging the university to bring back a standardized math score requirement for STEM applicants, beginning with the 2027-28 cycle. They point to a sharp rise in students arriving on campus underprepared for college-level math. The door that looked firmly closed a couple of years ago is open again.
The takeaway for Burbank parents is simple: do not assume the tests are irrelevant just because UC and Cal State are test-blind today. Policies are moving, and the students who keep their options open are the ones who benefit.
The tests themselves have changed
If your own memory of the SAT involves a number two pencil and a three hour Saturday morning, that test is gone.
The SAT is now fully digital and has been since 2024. It is shorter, around two hours, and adaptive, which means how your student performs on the first part of a section determines the difficulty of the next part. Because there are fewer questions, each one carries more weight, and reaching the very top scores can actually be tougher than it used to be.
The ACT has changed too. It is now shorter, the Science section is optional, and the composite score is built from English, Math, and Reading. Students can take it on paper or digitally. With both tests now similar in length, the old question of which test is less exhausting matters less, and the better fit usually comes down to which format and question style suits your student.
These updates are exactly why preparation, and a tutor who knows the current format, matter more than ever.
So should your student take the SAT or ACT?
It depends on a few things: your student, the schools they are aiming for, and their goals. A few questions worth asking:
– Do any of the target schools require or recommend scores? Many now do, and policies can change before application season.
– Could a strong score strengthen an application at a test-optional school? At many of them, a good score still helps.
– Is scholarship money on the table? Some scholarships still consider test results.
If the answer to any of these is yes, preparing for the SAT or ACT is a smart move. And even when a score is not required, the skills behind it, careful reading, clear writing, and solid math, are the same skills that serve students well in their classes and long after the test is over.
How Success Tutoring Online prepares Burbank students
This is where the two paths we believe in come together. Some families come to us for results: a higher score, a stronger application, an edge at a competitive school. Others come to us to learn: to truly understand the math, reading, and writing the test measures, and to build lasting confidence. Test prep done well delivers both at once.
For more than 20 years, Success Tutoring Online has helped students from Burbank and the surrounding San Fernando Valley, Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles area prepare for the SAT and ACT. We work with students from John Burroughs High, Burbank High, and schools across BUSD, and as an approved charter school vendor we partner with local families in a way that national test-prep chains cannot match. Our tutoring is one to one and built around your student, whether they are sitting for the test for the first time or hoping to raise a score they were not happy with.
Because our tutors stay current with the digital SAT and the new ACT, your student prepares for the test as it actually is today, not the one from a few years ago.
Get ready this summer
Summer is the ideal time to prepare, before the busy school year and fall test dates arrive. Schedules fill quickly, so the earlier you reach out, the more flexibility we have to match your student with the right tutor.
To get started, reach out through the contact form on our website. Tell us a little about your student, their grade, and the schools or scores they are aiming for, and we will match them with the right tutor. You can also explore our full range of services at successtutoringonline.com.
Hurry. Summer schedules fill up fast.
Sources
– College Board, on the SAT completing its transition to a fully digital test
– ACT, on the shorter test and optional Science section
– MIT Admissions, on reinstating its SAT and ACT requirement
– College Transitions, on Princeton and other schools returning to required testing
– Carnegie Prep, on Ivy League and state-system testing requirements
– University of California, on its standardized testing policy
– Daily Bruin, on UC faculty calling to reinstate testing for STEM applicants
