What is the new plan for Illinois?
Illinois recently agreed to a three-year contract with the College Board to begin administering the SAT instead of the ACT. NBC News Chicago reports that 11th graders have been administered the ACT for free by the state for the past 15 years. According to the Chicago Tribune, ACT officials started a protest in December to break away from the contract administering the SAT, which is reportedly worth $14.3 million. Illinois’ contract with the ACT ended this past summer, prompting a competitive search for a new deal. State record show that the SAT’s contract was $1.37 million less than the ACT over a three year period. Illinois has yet to announce their final decision, but as of now, the DGN calendar states that on April 19 all juniors will be taking the ACT at school for free, funded by District 99.
“My understanding is that the SAT gave the state a better bid, so part of it came down to money. Each state gets to pick their test and we’ve been with the ACT for a very, very long time,” associate principal Janice Schwarze said.
However, because the decision is not final, no one knows when or if current DGN students will be making the change from ACT to SAT. Current juniors could take the SAT at school this spring in addition to the ACT.
“If the state decides they are going to stick with the SAT and they are going to fund it then this spring we could possibly give it. I would say it’s a really small chance because Illinois doesn’t have a budget,” Schwarze said. “First, they would have to come up with a budget. Then, there’s a lot of prep going into giving the SAT, a lot of students have accommodations that take a while to get approved and so the likelihood of this year’s juniors taking the test this spring, as a school, is slim. Not zero, but it’s slim.”
What does this mean for students?
According to the Princeton Review, a test preparation and college admission company, most colleges put equal weight on results from both tests, partially due to the changing testing standards around the nation. Students have always had the choice to take the ACT and SAT in order to fulfill college application needs, but ACT has been the main test for Illinois students. According to The New York Times, in the past, colleges in the midwest preferred the ACT, while east coast and those comparable to Ivy League schools prefer the SAT and, more recently, applicants have submitted both tests to give their application more of “an edge”.
“The only colleges that require the SAT are very exclusive colleges or ones on the east coast, but for our local colleges, that many of our students go to, the ACT is fine. They can take the SAT also, but they’re not required to,” Schwarze said.
What does this mean for the teaching curriculum?
Students may notice some subtle changes in terms of test structure and content. Still, this will not cause any curricular change at DGN.
“None of our curriculum is geared toward a certain test. We teach our students the skills we think they need to be successful in college or in the work force,” Schwarze said. “We have never given students practice with the format of the SAT. We have given practice with the format of the ACT test and that of course is going to help. That’s why people take a practice one so that they do better on the real one. But in terms of our curriculum, we won’t make changes to it if they go to the SAT. We never taught towards a certain test.”
Unlike the ACT, the SAT has no science section. The ACT’s science section is meant to test reading and reasoning skills. ACT test takers have to interpret graphs and data provided for them. Science teacher Robert Calder said that he is not worried about the lack of a science section.
“I think that moving from the ACT to the SAT is more of a lateral step than a step backward in terms of science. Although, on the surface, it appears as though the ACT tests science content and the SAT does not, the ACT science section does not really test science knowledge but rather requires critical reading and graph interpretation,” Calder said.
The SAT now has a larger emphasis on English and reading skills, and focuses more on vocabulary than the ACT does.
English teacher Marjorie Thomas commented on this difference. “Vocabulary knowledge is assessed in context, so like the ACT or some AP exams, students make answer selections about word meaning from the sentence the word appears in, as well as the content in which the sentence is embedded,” Thomas said. “What’s interesting about the test is that it emphasizes command of evidence, words in context, and analysis and interpretation in social studies and science. Regarding the latter, this means that students will be reading passages in those disciplines and comparing or using graphs, charts, and other data to answer questions.”
So what NOW?
Sophomore Grace Puc has already begun to prepare for the ACT, which she is planning on taking junior year. As of now, however, she is unsure of what test she should prepare for due to proposed changes in Illinois.
“I was planning on taking just ACT preparation classes but now that Illinois has switched to the SAT I may have to look into SAT preparation classes. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do yet but that seems like what I’m going to have to do as of now,” Puc said.
Questions from students, parents and faculty will remain unanswered until the ACT’s protest to end the SAT’s contract is either approved or denied. No time table has been set for an announcement on this decision. Amanda Simhauser, a spokeswoman for the state board, commented on this in The Chicago Sun Times.
“It’s premature [to say] now, as the procurement process remains open,” Simhauser said. “Until a contract has been executed, we can’t say.”
Regardless of the contract, though, DGN will administer the ACT to juniors on April 19.