Students likely to benefit from taking SAT
The Illinois State Board of Education last year moved from providing the ACT as a national assessment and college entrance exam for all high school juniors to providing the SAT, an exam more aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards and Common Core.
While change is often difficult, we anticipate some great benefits to this move for both our students and our faculty.
Last April, as the SAT debuted as the state-provided exam, I spoke about the differences between the two exams.
To summarize, the ACT focuses on a student's knowledge, while the SAT primarily assesses reasoning skills. The ACT tests knowledge in reading, math, English and science reasoning; the SAT assesses reading, writing and language, and math. Science is embedded in reading, writing and language, and a science sub-score is devised from these areas.
Previously, the only practice opportunity given to students was a retired ACT exam that was given to 10th-grade sophomores a year before the actual testing time frame and tested content that would not be covered until junior year.
With the SAT, a full suite of assessments is available, allowing students in grades nine and 10 to take meaningful exams aligned to their current grade level curriculum.
My focus today is on the SAT suite of assessments and the longitudinal data they eventually will provide for our teachers and administrators to guide instruction and student placement in courses, including Advanced Placement courses earning college credit.
The SAT suite of assessments includes PSAT 9 given to freshmen, PSAT 10 given to sophomores, the PSAT/NMSQT that is optional and can qualify students for National Merit scholarships, and the SAT given to juniors in the spring.
The PSAT 9 is taken in the spring of ninth grade and establishes a baseline measurement of college and career readiness. It provides data to our counselors and faculty that determines what students need to work on the most, assisting with course selection.
The PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10 are essentially the same exam, offered at different times of year. They serve as check-ins on student progress and enable us to pinpoint areas for development and the selection of appropriate courses.
Students can take the PSAT/NMSQT in the fall of 10th and 11th grade for a small fee. The PSAT 10 is administered in the spring at no cost to our students.
Complexity on the exams increases from grades nine to 11, culminating with the SAT taken by juniors in the spring. Accepted by all U.S. colleges, the SAT is an opportunity for students to show colleges they are prepared to succeed on campus. We provide this exam free to students; those who wish to improve their score may take it again at their own expense.
The AP Potential tool provided by the SAT allows us to generate rosters of students who are likely to score a 3 or higher on a given Advanced Placement exam based on their performance on any of the SAT assessments.
The AP Potential score is designed to increase student access to AP coursework and essentially ensures that all students who have the chance of succeeding in AP have the opportunity to do so.
• Doug Domeracki is superintendent of Community High School District 94 in West Chicago. During the school year, his column appears monthly in Neighbor.