Council of the Great City Schools

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 – Five urban school districts have won the 2017 Official SAT Practice All In Challenge aimed at boosting college and career readiness in the nation’s largest urban public-school systems, the Council of the Great City Schools announced today.

The winners – Long Beach, Fresno, Orange County (Orlando), Denver and Chicago – competed among 28 big-city school districts that volunteered for the first-ever Official SAT Practice All In Challenge through a partnership between the Council, the College Board, and Khan Academy.

“There are many success stories to share about the hard work and incredible growth that our districts and students made through this challenge,” says Council Executive Director Michael Casserly. “We’re proud of the 28 school districts that stepped up to the challenge and hope others will follow.”

The Official SAT Practice All In Challenge connects urban students with free, official, and personalized SAT practice on Khan Academy to prepare for the SAT and postsecondary success. Students who've taken the SAT or a PSAT-related assessment in the past can unlock a custom practice plan on Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy that identifies strengths and weaknesses.

“The PSAT is now a diagnostic for Khan Academy,” says Khan Academy founder Sal Khan. “If students share their PSAT score, Khan Academy can use that information to provide tailored practice in math, reading and writing.”

To recognize the achievement of the five winning school districts, they will be presented awards in five categories:

• California’s Long Beach Unified School District received the “MVP” prize for having the highest overall percentage of students linking their College Board and Khan Academy accounts to receive free, personalized SAT practice.

• California’s Fresno Unified School District received the “Growth” prize for having the highest overall percent increase of students linking their College Board and Khan Academy accounts to receive free, personalized SAT practice.

• Florida’s Orange County Public Schools in Orlando received the “Student: Proof of Practice” prize for having the highest average weekly percentage of students with active Official SAT Practice accounts.

• Denver Public Schools received the “Time: Proof of Practice” prize with its students logging the most minutes on Official SAT Practice per week.

• Chicago Public Schools received the “Problems Completed: Proof of Practice” prize with its students completing the most Official SAT Practice problems per week.

“Our partnership with the Council of the Great City Schools and Khan Academy is helping bring these free, highly personalized practice tools to every corner of the country,” says College Board President and CEO David Coleman. “But make no mistake: behind every story of a student practicing on Khan Academy and succeeding on the SAT is a caring adult. We applaud the community of leaders across the five winning districts for their commitment to adopting these tools and propelling their students forward.”

Official SAT Practice features video lessons, test-taking tips and strategies, thousands of interactive practice questions and nine full-length, practice tests. There are now more than four million unique users registered for Official SAT Practice.

In May, the College Board and Khan Academy announced research that showed that students who prepared for the SAT using Official SAT Practice have seen substantial score gains. Twenty hours of practice is associated with an average 115-point increase from the PSAT/NMSQT to the SAT, nearly double the average gain of students who do not use Official SAT Practice.

As a part of the award, the districts will receive money to put toward initiatives that advance student success and opportunity.

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