Houston ISD students will take the SAT college admission test at district high schools Wednesday, during what is a called SAT School Day. The district-wide initiative gives juniors the opportunity to take the test during a normal school day at no cost.

“This is a great opportunity for high school juniors to overcome barriers of any kind and focus on taking the SAT,” said Assistant Superintendent for College Readiness Rick Cruz. “More than 9,000 students at all HISD high schools will take advantage of the testing day.”

First offered in the spring of 2010, SAT School Day helps states and districts foster a college-going culture and increases access to higher education. Providing students with the opportunity to take the SAT for free during the school day also ensures that students who might otherwise face barriers to standard Saturday testing — such as part-time jobs, family responsibilities, or financial barriers — do not miss out on a chance at the college-going process.

This year, HISD also provided an online SAT coaching course that would ordinarily cost a family up to $500. PrepMe is an online test preparation system that guides students through the SAT preparation process at the student’s own pace. Students who use PrepMe on average raise their scores by 220 points on the SAT.

Since 2010, all HISD students in grades 9-11 have had the opportunity to take the PSAT test for free, and since March 2012, every HISD junior has taken the SAT exam during regular class time for free. For more information on HISD’s College Readiness programs, visit www.houstonisd.org/collegereadiness.