"Committed to promoting educational access, helping bridge socio-economic gaps": College Board official
How are institutions like MIT, Cambridge, and Ashoka setting new benchmarks in student recruitment and partnerships, and what role does College Board play in fostering such collaborations?
Standardised assessments, such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), provide a common metric for student excellence and an accurate measure of academic potential, offering universities a reliable tool for evaluating applicants from diverse backgrounds.
Institutions such as MIT, Cambridge, and Ashoka University are setting new benchmarks in student recruitment and partnerships by leveraging these standardised assessments to identify and support high-achieving students globally.
The SAT’s role in admissions has been reinforced by institutions worldwide, including Ivy League institutions such as Yale, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Stanford, that recognise its predictive value for academic success and have reinstated it as an essential criterion for admission.
In India, over 50 universities, including Ashoka University, NMIMS, Flame University, and Shiv Nadar University, now accept SAT scores. This acceptance, combined with the ease of access at over 126 SAT centres across India, enables deserving students to pursue top-tier educational opportunities both domestically and internationally.
Universities and colleges, of course, make their own decisions about their admissions requirements and what is appropriate for their unique missions and goals.
Could you share some examples of initiatives, such as the India Scholars Program, that the College Board has taken to promote access to education and bridge socioeconomic gaps?
At College Board, we are committed to promoting educational access and helping bridge socioeconomic gaps through a range of initiatives. In addition to scholarships, we offer free, high-quality resources to help students prepare effectively for College Board assessments.
Our Bluebook testing app provides six full-length official practice tests, available to students both before and after they register for the SAT. This tool allows students to familiarise themselves with the test format and improve their skills through repeated practice.
We also partner with Khan Academy, a fellow not-for-profit organisation, to offer thousands of practice questions and instructional materials in math and evidence-based reading and writing. Khan Academy provides comprehensive chapter-based content, complete with videos and explanations, allowing students to build a solid foundation in core concepts.
By combining practice on Khan Academy with full-length tests on Bluebook, students can create a personalised preparation path, while focusing on areas where they need more practice.
Looking ahead, what are the College Board’s future plans for expanding its collaborations with universities and schools globally?
Our goal is to create more pathways for students worldwide to achieve their academic and career aspirations. We aim to expand access to our Advanced Placement courses and the SAT Suite of Assessments, making these valuable resources available to a broader range of educational communities beyond the United States. We see growth coming from India and parts of Asia and hence these are priority markets for us.
To achieve this, we’re focused on building strong partnerships with forward-thinking ministries of education, university partners, and school leaders and educators.
