Welcome to the Summer 2025 edition of Sal Khan’s Quarterly Newsletter for District Leaders.
This August 2025 newsletter is all about strategic test preparation, featuring
• a video from Sal about the SAT’s importance,
• an invitation to Sept 18 Annual Official SAT Prep Webinar with College Board,
• Detroit public schools: What happens when a whole city treats SAT like a team sport?
• research insights from Dr. Kristen DiCerbo on test prep and the future of assessments
• and more!
Hear from Sal about how districts can help every student prepare effectively and equitably, and how Detroit Public Schools’ relentless approach turned free Khan Academy SAT prep into measurable gains. Watch the video →
SAT 2025: Essentials for Improving Scores.
- Watch recording → Join Khan Academy and College Board on September 18, 2025, for the Official SAT Prep Annual Webinar. This 45-minute session will provide district leaders with strategies to improve scores and examples of equity-first, scalable district models. Attendees will learn how to coordinate SAT prep rollout, train teachers, and track student progress.
- See how Detroit Public Schools is improving SAT scores → What happens when a whole city treats SAT prep like a team sport? In Detroit, educators are rallying students, parents, and entire communities around one goal: unlocking college opportunities through a reimagined approach to the SAT. In this inspiring conversation with Detroit Public Schools’ Executive Director of Mathematics, Dr. Tony Hawk, you’ll discover how competition, collaboration, and data are fueling a movement, and why it’s working.
- State leadership matters → Rhode Island is the first state in the country to enable all public high school students to use Khanmigo and Khan Academy to prepare for the SAT. We joined Governor McKee and Commissioner Infante-Green in Providence to celebrate this milestone and their commitment to expanding access to high-quality learning across the state.
Kristen’s Corner
Research-backed SAT Insights
- Read the interview → Each quarter, we sit down with Dr. Kristen DiCerbo, Khan Academy’s Chief Learning Officer, to reflect on what she’s seeing in the field, in the research, and in the data. This time, with SAT prep top of mind for many districts, we asked her to share how she’s thinking about assessment, motivation, and meaningful practice.
Articles, appearances
- Kristen was asked “Can an AI-Powered Tutor Produce Meaningful Results?”
- In a recent webinar, AI for Education’s Amanda Bickerstaff and Kristen DiCerbo explored the opportunities and challenges involved with using and developing education specific applications of GenAI. Get the summary notes→
Research
- College Board research from May 2025 shows students who took full-length SAT practice tests in Bluebook scored higher, with greater gains for those with lower PSAT scores.
- We’re inviting school and district administrators to join our Research Feedback Community → a group of passionate educators who help shape new features, improve existing tools, and guide our product strategy. As a member, you’ll have the opportunity to choose to:
– Participate in short interviews, surveys, or pilot programs
– Get an early look into what we’re building
-Share feedback that directly influences how we support your schools
Don’t Miss!
Common Sense Media’s “AI Risk Assessment” report on AI as a teaching assistant highlights that AI teacher tools “work best when they build upon high-quality curricula and materials.” Read the report →
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Thanks for reading,
The Khan Academy team
