Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, many things have changed regarding the education system including standardized testing dates. As the ACT and SAT test dates were canceled in the spring and summer, many seniors who were planning to take these tests in spring now have to take it in the fall. 

Although the pandemic is unpredictable and no one is to blame for the cancelled test dates, ultimately, juniors should step aside and let seniors have full access to standardized testing during this crucial time for college applications. 

Although during a normal year many juniors would begin testing around this time, due to these unusual circumstances juniors should not take the seniors’ testing spots. They should instead consider registering later for a December or spring date. For most seniors, it is their last opportunity to take the ACT before applying to college. 

“I waited for nearly an hour in order to secure a spot for an ACT in August or September, early enough for college application submissions, but that didn’t matter—as soon as the site opened, all of the testing spots were filled within seconds,” said Chigo Ojiako, senior. “I went on social media and soon found out that most of the people who had been lucky enough to get spots for the ACT were juniors. This deeply fueled my frustration and anger, and I couldn’t believe how selfish some of those people were.”

The ACT refused to provide details on how many twelfth graders remain untested. However, it did acknowledge the fact that that testing was disrupted for about a third of the students it had scheduled for in-school testing in the spring. 

“I feel really bad seeing a bunch of my senior friends stressing about not being able to get a date to take the ACT,” said Max Ashchinberg, junior. 

The official account of the ACT tweeted to encourage juniors to sign up for later testing dates. 

With COVID-19, everything is up in the air, especially for desperate seniors trying to finish up college applications. Many of us never got the chance to take the ACT or SAT, and right now we need to take these tests more than the juniors do. 

“I tutor lots of seniors and juniors and during this time I have been recommending to my juniors to sign up for the ACT in the spring to not conflict with the seniors limited time,” said Mrs. Mary Dickerson, ACT tutor.

I know that there are juniors out there that want to prepare early and start taking the ACT or SAT as soon as possible, but at this time, they should wait until next spring to sign up so that other seniors could have the chance to get a spot. The whole situation with juniors taking up most of the spots for ACT testing this fall has left many seniors feeling stranded and scrambling.

I understand that juniors want to start preparing early, but under these circumstances, now is not the time. They could be more considerate and wait to take it until spring, which would give many more seniors the chance to take a test that could determine the rest of their academic career. 

Juniors please back off. Let us seniors have this opportunity, it is imperative for our college education.