Background

When Indiana made the SAT a graduation requirement in 2020, Hanover Community School Corporation recognized that preparation could no longer be informal or uneven.

With graduation tied directly to SAT performance, readiness became a shared district responsibility—one that required more than access to resources.

Prior to formalizing a district-wide approach, SAT preparation varied by classroom. Students had access to high-quality materials, but leadership lacked consistent cohort-level visibility. There was no unified structure to determine whether practice translated into checkpoint performance across the junior class.

Rather than assume readiness, Hanover chose to operationalize it.

District leaders elevated SAT preparation to a system-level priority. The objective was clear: prepare every junior and verify that preparation translated into measurable performance on College Board assessments.

Partnering with Khan Academy Districts as a nonprofit, mission-aligned provider, Hanover shifted from decentralized practice to a governed, district-wide SAT readiness model.

Challenges

• Define SAT readiness as a district responsibility: graduation requirements require shared ownership and system-level clarity.
• Measure impact beyond engagement: practice time and lesson completion were insufficient indicators of readiness.
• Monitor an entire junior cohort consistently: leaders needed real-time, cohort-level visibility—not isolated classroom reports.
• Align preparation to accountability standards: daily SAT practice had to reflect Indiana checkpoints and College Board rigor.

"We made SAT readiness a district responsibility—not something left to individual classrooms.” - Phil Misecko, Superintendent

Solutions

Blueprint Step 1: Define District Ownership

Hanover formally assigned responsibility for SAT readiness at the district level. Leadership identified implementation leads, established shared expectations for junior participation, and aligned preparation efforts across schools.

By clarifying ownership, the district eliminated uneven adoption and created sustained consistency across the cohort.

SAT readiness became governed work—not optional enrichment.

Blueprint Step 2: Monitor the Entire Junior Cohort

Using Khan Academy Districts’ district-level dashboards, administrators gained real-time visibility into every junior’s progress, mastery development, and areas of need.

This centralized visibility, which would be impossible through decentralized, classroom-by-classroom use, enabled leaders to identify patterns across the cohort, support teachers strategically, and intervene before gaps widened.

Monitoring shifted from reactive to proactive.

Blueprint Step 3: Verify Transferable Learning

Hanover refused to equate usage with achievement.

District leaders examined growth on Indiana checkpoints aligned to Khan Academy lessons and cross-referenced performance with College Board practice assessments to determine whether learning transferred beyond the platform.

This disciplined verification model ensured that SAT preparation produced durable, transferable skills aligned to high-stakes accountability measures.

Transfer, not activity, became the standard.

Blueprint Step 4: Align Daily Practice to Accountability

Hanover ensured coherence between daily SAT practice and official assessments by aligning instruction College Board expectations.

Students developed skills calibrated to tested standards and exam rigor, strengthening leadership confidence that preparation time was purposeful, measurable, and defensible.

We weren’t just looking at minutes or completion. We were asking, ‘Is it transferring?"

District Reported Outcomes

• Districtwide consistency: SAT readiness is supported through defined ownership and structured monitoring across all juniors.
• Cohort-level visibility: leaders have real-time insight into student progress, enabling earlier and more targeted support.
• Verified transferable learning: growth on aligned Indiana checkpoints and College Board practice assessments confirms measurable skill development beyond platform engagement.
• Clear, defensible readiness strategy: leadership can articulate how SAT preparation is structured, monitored, and verified across the district.

What began as variable classroom practice is now a structured, verifiable district-wide SAT readiness system.