Compass Education Group Releases the 2026-2027 Edition of The Compass Guide to College Admission Testing

Compass Education Group publishes the 2026–2027 edition of its free annual college admission and test prep guidebook for students, families, and counselors.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Compass Education Group has released the 2026-2027 edition of The Compass Guide to College Admission Testing, its free annual guidebook on the SAT, ACT, PSAT/NMSQT, and AP exams. Students, parents, and counselors can access the full Guide in the Compass Resource Center, along with downloadable individual excerpts and an array of free test prep resources.

“Colleges have spent six years sorting out what they want from test scores, and the picture still shifts from one admissions cycle to the next. What families need is not a prediction but a clear account of where things stand right now. That is what the Guide has always tried to be.”
-Adam Ingersoll, Co-Founder and Principal

Revised annually and updated throughout the admission cycle as colleges and testing agencies announce changes, the Guide’s resources are used by college counselors at thousands of high schools to help students and families plan their testing as well as by independent educational consultants and the families they help. The Guide is written for readers who want the reasoning behind a recommendation, and addresses the questions counselors field most often:

1. How important are test scores, and how does a student measure up?
2. What is the most effective calendar for testing and test preparation?
3. What do test-optional policies mean in practice, and should a student submit scores?
4. How do SAT and ACT scores compare, and how should a student choose between the two tests?
5. How do effective timing strategies vary by test and by subject?
6. How strong is a PSAT score, and will a student qualify for National Merit?
7. Who is eligible for extended-time accommodations, and how are they requested?
8. How have AP exams and AP scores changed, and how do colleges use them?

The 2026-2027 edition reflects a testing landscape that has continued to shift. A number of selective colleges have reinstated testing requirements while many others remain test-optional, the ACT now offers a shorter format with an optional science section, and colleges have responded to that change in different ways. Updates in this edition include:

A. Admission statistics, testing policies, and score ranges for more than 400 colleges
B. A tracker of college requirements and recommendations for the ACT science section
C. Early Action and Early Decision deadlines (EA 1, EA 2, ED 1, and ED 2) for the 2026-2027 cycle at hundreds of selective colleges
D. Updated National Merit Semifinalist cutoffs by state, with an explanation of how the scholarship program works
E. Current SAT and ACT test dates, registration fees, accommodations, and fee waiver instructions

The Guide also carries forward the reference material counselors rely on year after year, much of it also published as one-page excerpts formatted for handouts:

i. A side-by-side comparison of the SAT and the ACT covering structure, timing, scoring, and content
ii. The official SAT/ACT concordance, and a method for using PSAT scores to predict SAT or ACT ranges and choose between the two tests
iii. Superscoring and Score Choice rules, and which colleges accept self-reported scores
iv. Step-by-step instructions for requesting testing accommodations
v. Short explainers on how test scores relate to merit aid, GPA, and college performance

“We update the Guide constantly because a policy chart from last spring can already be wrong by fall,” said Adam Ingersoll, Co-Founder and Principal of Compass. “Counselors do not have time to chase every announcement from every college, and they should not have to. Our commitment is to do that work and publish what the data actually show.”

Compass encourages counselors and educators to share the Guide with their communities. Schools and non-profit organizations may download and distribute it at no cost. Compass recommends linking to the Resource Center rather than hosting a copy of the Guide, so that students and families will always see the most current version – a ready-made HTML snippet for school websites is provided on the Resource Center page.

Alongside the Guide, Compass offers free public webinars on college admission testing and free tutor-led SAT and ACT workshops for students, along with interactive tools for comparing SAT and ACT scores and tracking college testing policies.

About Compass Education Group
Compass Education Group is one of the world’s leading test prep providers of private tutoring programs and small group class instruction for high school students aspiring to attend competitive colleges. Compass has earned the trust of college counselors and administrators at thousands of high schools. Our reputation reflects the results our students achieve, our commitment to research and sharing accurate information about testing, and the ethical standards we maintain in relationships with clients and counselors. Every year the Compass team researches and publishes The Compass Guide to College Admission Testing, a free guidebook used by families, counselors and independent educational consultants across the country.

Jesse Anthony
Compass Education Group
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