Compass Education Group releases 2026-27 college testing guide

Compass Education Group has published the 2026-2027 edition of its free guide to SAT, ACT, PSAT/NMSQT and AP testing for students, families and counselors. The updated resource reflects shifting admissions policies, including reinstated testing requirements at some selective colleges and the ACT’s shorter format with an optional science section.

Why it matters: - The 2026-2027 Guide is a free reference that helps students, families and counselors navigate a testing landscape that keeps changing. - The guide is used by college counselors at thousands of high schools, plus independent educational consultants and the families they advise. - Compass says the goal is to give readers a current, practical view of testing rules instead of a prediction.

What happened: - Compass Education Group released the 2026-2027 edition of The Compass Guide to College Admission Testing. - The guide covers the SAT, ACT, PSAT/NMSQT and AP exams. - Students, parents and counselors can access the full guide in the Compass Resource Center. - Compass also offers downloadable excerpts and other free test prep resources. - The company says it updates the guide annually and throughout the admissions cycle as colleges and testing agencies make changes.

The details: - The new edition includes admission statistics, testing policies and score ranges for more than 400 colleges. - The guide adds a tracker for college requirements and recommendations tied to the ACT science section. - It includes Early Action and Early Decision deadlines for the 2026-2027 cycle at hundreds of selective colleges. - The edition updates National Merit Semifinalist cutoffs by state and explains how the scholarship program works. - The guide lists current SAT and ACT test dates, registration fees, accommodation rules and fee waiver instructions. - The reference material also compares the SAT and ACT on structure, timing, scoring and content. - The guide includes the official SAT/ACT concordance and a method for using PSAT scores to estimate SAT or ACT ranges. - It covers superscoring, Score Choice rules and which colleges accept self-reported scores. - The guide provides step-by-step instructions for requesting testing accommodations. - It also explains how test scores relate to merit aid, GPA and college performance. - Compass says schools and nonprofit organizations may download and distribute the guide at no cost. - Compass recommends linking to the Resource Center rather than hosting a copy so students and families see the most current version. - The Resource Center includes a ready-made HTML snippet for school websites. - Compass also offers free public webinars, tutor-led SAT and ACT workshops, and interactive tools for comparing scores and tracking college testing policies.

Between the lines: - The guide reflects a market where some selective colleges have brought back testing requirements while many others remain test-optional. - The ACT’s shorter format and optional science section have pushed colleges to respond in different ways, which makes side-by-side guidance more useful. - Compass is positioning the guide as both a counseling tool and a live policy tracker, not a static handbook.

What's next: - Compass will keep updating the guide as colleges and testing agencies announce policy changes. - Counselors and schools can continue using the Resource Center for the latest version and share the guide with their communities. - Students can also use Compass’s webinars, workshops and score comparison tools alongside the guide.

The bottom line: - Compass is betting that families need a current, central source for test-admission rules in a volatile admissions cycle.