U-46 prepping students, parents for new SAT
Officials at the state's second-largest school district are prepping students and parents for a new college entrance exam debuting next month.
Illinois has stopped funding the ACT college entrance test that had been administered for free to 11th-graders for 15 years. This year, school districts statewide will be transitioning to the newly redesigned SAT college admission exam, though legislators haven't yet allocated money for its administration due to the state budget impasse.
While many suburban districts have opted to stick with ACT until state funding is allocated, Elgin Area School District U-46 will be administering both tests at its own expense.
For the first time, the district's roughly 3,000 juniors in five high schools will take the SAT test on a school day (April 12), while the ACT will be offered only on a national testing day, which falls on a Saturday this spring.
The first of two informational meetings to get parents familiarized with the new SAT test will run from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday in Room 240 of the district headquarters, 355 East Chicago St., Elgin. Another informational session is scheduled for March 7 at the same time and place.
A representative from the College Board - developers of the SAT test and the Advanced Placement program - and a U-46 assessment official will be at both meetings to answer questions.
"High schools are also setting up their own parent meetings in case parents can't make it to one of the two that we have set up," said Terri Lozier, assistant superintendent of secondary schools, instruction and equity.
SAT vs. ACT
ACT and SAT are comparable tests for their rigor and in that both measure college and career readiness skills. The testing time is roughly three hours each, without a writing component.
Though it was not mandated before now, the SAT is a familiar exam to Illinois students. In U-46, juniors who elected to take the SAT in the past also had to pay for it.
The test is taken throughout East Coast states and is accepted by all Illinois colleges and universities.
The SAT includes reading, writing, language and math tests - it also has an optional essay component, which some colleges require.
Unlike the ACT, which also tests science, the SAT incorporates science contextually into the reading portion of the test. ACT also has roughly 60 more questions than the SAT.
The SAT math test includes a portion for which calculators are not allowed, whereas with ACT students can use a calculator for all 60 math questions.
The redesigned SAT, which debuts March 5 in other parts of the country, has new features most people are unfamiliar with, said Laura Hill, U-46 director of assessment and accountability.
"There is no longer a penalty for guessing on the SAT," she said. "They used to use vocabulary that was very difficult, but now they use words in context. Their purpose of doing that is to make sure that the colleges actually are receiving results that show the students are prepared."
What constitutes a good SAT score is yet to be determined since it's a new test, officials said.
"Any standardized test has to go through a field test process," Hill said. "It's more baseline within the school district because it's new for us to understand the components of it."
The College Board has partnered with KhanAcademy.org - an online educational resource - to offer students access to four full-length practice tests for free.
"Khan Academy will score it for you automatically and then it will prepare areas of math, reading or language arts that you need to study and give you a personalized study plan," Lozier said.
Practice tests also are available through apps for smartphones and other devices, and students can download the SAT app and practice a question a day.
"Going forward will make sure that every freshman coming in will have the (SAT) app loaded so they can practice for three years," Lozier said.
Students who qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program also can get college application fee waivers, officials said.
What is the SAT?
A redesigned <a href="https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/">SAT</a> college entrance exam debuts March 5 nationwide. It is now Illinois' preferred college entrance test and school districts statewide are beginning to administer it more widely for the first time this spring, instead of the ACT college entrance exam.
<b>Some SAT facts:</b>• SAT was first administered in 1926. It featured multiple-choice questions with nine subtests - definitions, arithmetical problems, classification, artificial language, antonyms, number series, analogies, logical inference and paragraph reading.
• This school year, the SAT will be administered to every public high school in Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia, as well as in more than 100 school districts in 17 other states. Colorado will administer the SAT to 11th-graders beginning in spring 2017.
• SAT includes reading, writing, language and math tests - it also has an optional essay component, which some colleges require.
• Check out the redesigned SAT at <a href="https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/inside-the-test/key-changes">collegeboard.org.</a>
• For a free SAT practice test, visit <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/sat">khanacademy.org.</a>
SOURCE: College Board