Faced with Illinois changing its college entrance exam and uncertainty regarding funding, School District U46 is pondering spending $139,000 to offer high school students the chance to take both the ACT and SAT exams this spring.
District staff suggested spending $95,200 on the SAT and $43,800 on the ACT on one-year contracts at Monday’s board meeting.
While Illinois has traditionally offered the ACT exam to high school juniors, the state has now changed the college entrance exam to the SAT, a decision the district found out about on Dec. 7, district staff told the board.
The state had gone back and forth with various proposals, and the ACT has been the traditional college entrance exam until the testing giant’s contract expired with Illinois this past summer.
Most students prep for and know the ACT test better, according to staff. Offering both will ensure test takers are not at a disadvantage.
The board will vote on the proposal next month.
Both tests would be administered in April, according to the district.
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While the state has traditionally paid for college entrance exams, the current budget impasse has required districts to take such matters into their own hands.
Both the ACT and SAT tests produce scores that can be submitted to colleges and universities, and it’s not uncommon for students to take both.
The ACT has traditionally dominated the Midwest’s college entrance exams, and it became an integral part of required annual state exams given in Illinois back in 2001.
The State Board of Education bumped the ACT off the roster of required state tests last year, making it optional for districts in 2015.
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