By Megan Crain
Local students have been taking the ACT in school their junior year for 15
years. The state has been paying for students to take the ACT, but if the
Illinois State Board of Education has its way, students will be taking the
SAT instead of the ACT very soon.
The Board of Education recently awarded a three-year, $14.3-million contract
to the College Board, who distributes the SAT. ACT Inc., the owner of the
ACT, filed a formal protest against the agreement. Students will not know
which test they will be given in school in the coming years until the
protest is resolved.
However, the College Board will be debuting a new version of the SAT, which
is much different than the test Illinois students have taken in the past.
New SAT: what to expect
With the new SAT being debuted in March, there are some key changes being
made to the test that students should know about.
Hoor Bhanpuri is the executive director of the College Board's Illinois
Partnership, and has been with the College Board since 2007. He said that
the SAT was redesigned to measure skills that are needed in college and
beyond.
"It was also redesigned to better reflect what students, in Illinois and
across the country, are learning in class," Bhanpuri said. The test will be
more focused on the skills at "the heart of education."
"It will measure what you learn in high school and what you need to succeed
in college," he said.
The SAT is moving away from having students memorize obscure vocabulary
words, and will now have students focus on using relevant words in context.
The math section is being downsized, and students will now only have to
focus on three areas of math that are considered to be the most helpful in
college and after.
Additionally, test takers will no longer have to worry about guessing
incorrectly; the guessing penalty has been eliminated, and students will not
be penalized for wrong answers.
The College Board is also offering free and personalized SAT practice
through a partnership with KhanAcademy. Students have access to video
lessons, thousands of practice questions, an app for daily practicing and
four full-length practice tests.
"The College Board stands ready to work with educators across the state,"
Bhanpuri said, "to ensure that even more Illinois students benefit from all
the opportunities connected with our assessment."
Similarities and Differences
Regardless of how the ACT and SAT measure college readiness, both tests are
used as college entrance exams. Most schools accept either an ACT or an SAT
score, but some schools will only accept one or the other.
The way the tests are given and the subjects they test are slightly
different.
The ACT tests students on their knowledge of English, math, reading and
science. The new SAT will have three sections: reading, writing and language
, and math. A writing section is available on both tests, but is not
required.
The ACT is scored on a scale from 0 to 36, with 36 being a perfect score,
while the new SAT will use a scale from 400 to 1600.
The tests both take the same amount of time, about four hours. They are
offered multiple times around the country during the school year: ACT has
six test days, the SAT has seven. Both tests can be taken more than once,
and low-income students can get financial aid to help pay for the cost of
the exams.
The ACT without writing costs $39.50 and is slightly less expensive than the
SAT without writing, which is $43. However, the SAT with writing is $2
cheaper than the ACT with writing.
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SIDEBAR PHOTO: A student looks at questions during a college test
preparation class. The current version of the SAT college entrance exam is
having its final run, when thousands of students nationwide will sit, squirm
or stress through the nearly four-hour reading, writing and math test. A
new revamped version debuts in March. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
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Megan Crain is a senior at Southeast High School.
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