Naperville districts paying to stick with ACT
The ACT has been the king of college entrance exams in the suburbs for years - and it's staying that way this year in Naperville.
Naperville Unit District 203 and Indian Prairie Unit District 204 will pay to give juniors the ACT this spring, despite the state leaning toward choosing the SAT.
District 203 will spend about $80,000 to give the test to roughly 1,400 juniors at $56.50 for each test, while District 204 will spend about $130,000 to administer it to 2,300 students, assessment officials said. Both districts will offer a version of the exam with a writing component.
Moving forward with the test for which students and parents have been preparing makes sense, even in a period of uncertainty about state action on choosing and paying for a college-entrance exam, said Patrick Nolten, executive director of assessment, research and evaluation in District 204.
Nolten said the state has not yet signed a contract with the SAT but officials are leaning toward doing so despite an appeal from ACT. If the state doesn't pay for college entrance testing for juniors, it can't force districts to choose a specific exam, officials said.
So many districts are sticking with consistency.
"It's prudent to give the ACT this year because parents and students have been preparing for months, maybe even a year," District 204 school board member Michael Raczak said.
The Naperville and Indian Prairie districts will give the ACT during a school day in the spring, while picking up the new expense.
"We could choose to let the parents pay for it, but we're so late in the game. That's a $55 expense the state is shifting to us, per student," District 204 school board member Justin Karubas said. "I'm comfortable with the district paying that."