SAT Subject Tests, sometimes called SAT IIs, were one-hour, subject-specific exams in areas like Math Level 1 and 2, Biology, Chemistry, US History, and several foreign languages. College Board permanently discontinued them in January 2021. If you're seeing conflicting information about whether they're required somewhere, here's the actual, current answer.
Why College Board Discontinued Them
College Board cited the disruption COVID-19 caused to testing access broadly, combined with data showing the exams had already become peripheral to admissions decisions at most colleges in the years leading up to the pandemic. Many schools had quietly stopped requiring or even considering Subject Tests well before the formal discontinuation; the 2021 announcement mostly confirmed a shift that had already happened in practice.
What Replaced Them
AP exam scores now fill the closest equivalent role: demonstrating that a student has mastered a specific subject at a rigorous, standardized level. A strong AP score, particularly a 4 or 5, signals subject-area competence in much the same way a strong Subject Test score once did, and unlike Subject Tests, AP scores also carry the added benefit of potential college credit. For language proficiency specifically, colleges now look at AP language exam scores, IB language scores, or dedicated assessments like the STAMP or ACTFL tests, none of which existed as admissions signals in quite the same way when Subject Tests were still active.
What This Means If You're Applying Now
If you're a current applicant, SAT Subject Tests are simply not part of your process, full stop. There's no registration to sign up for, no fee to pay, no score to submit. Direct your test-prep energy toward the general SAT or ACT and toward your AP coursework and exams instead, since those are the credentials that actually matter today. If you come across a college website, forum post, or older guide referencing Subject Test requirements, that information predates 2021 and should be disregarded entirely.
If You Took Subject Tests Before 2021
If you have old Subject Test scores sitting on a College Board account from before the discontinuation, they cannot be submitted to colleges as part of a current application, the reporting system for them no longer exists. They're simply historical artifacts at this point, with no bearing on today's admissions process.
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