Lake Park prepares to go from ACT to SAT
The Illinois State Board of Education recently announced a major change in the state-funded college entrance exam administered to high school juniors on-site in their schools during the school day.
This practice has afforded opportunities and provided access for more students to make higher education a reality.
Following an intensive, multi-month review process, the state board awarded the test administration to the College Board, which produces the Scholastic Achievement Test. The state's decision to shift from the ACT to the SAT impacts the testing plan for Lake Park High School students in Roselle this spring.
Since 2001, juniors have taken a state-funded ACT as part of the state of Illinois school accountability model and for purposes of college admissions. Our teaching staff works diligently to prepare students for success, which is reflected by Lake Park's above-state-average scores on the ACT.
For spring 2016, the state of Illinois intended to fund a college admissions test for all juniors. However, due to the state's budget impasse in Springfield, the state board does not yet know whether money will be appropriated to fund a college-entrance exam.
All public high schools are now in a tenuous position: wait for the availability of state funds or allocate local district funds to provide a college admissions test for juniors.
In the best interest of students, Lake Park is committing district funds to pay for an ACT (for juniors with 14 or more credits) on Tuesday, April 19, during the school day. However, the 2015-16 school year represents the last time Lake Park coursework has been aligned to the standards reflected in the ACT.
Lake Park is proactively planning for the upcoming assessment changes at the federal and state levels. As a result, the transition to the SAT begins this spring for our school district.
On April 19, freshmen and sophomores will take the PSAT 10 to collect meaningful data and provide exposure to the SAT's content and format. This experience paves the way for a revised assessment model aligned to the SAT for grades eight through 11, with full implementation during the 2016-17 school year.
In preparation, our administrative team and curriculum leaders will participate in training with the College Board Tuesday, Feb. 2, to learn more about administering the new SAT assessment suite.
Principals from our middle school sender districts also have been invited to attend, given that next year's eighth-graders will take the PSAT 8/9 for purposes of ninth-grade placement.
The state's decisions about assessment, accountability and school funding have had a profound impact on local school districts. Understandably, this represents a challenging transition period for our students and families, who will need helpful resources and information about scoring and reporting.
The Lake Park school community remains committed to bridging this transition and ensuring academic preparation for all students.
• Lynne Panega is superintendent of Lake Park High School District 108. Her columns run monthly in Neighbor during the school year.