Illinois High School Juniors To Take ACT Instead Of SAT Until 2030

SPRINGFIELD, IL — When juniors at Illinois public high schools take their annual state assessments next spring, they will be bubbling in the answers on a different standardized tests.

The Illinois State Board of Education is swapping testing providers from the SAT to ACT.

The state's contract with the College Board, which had provided SAT testing for 11th grade students from the 2016-17 school year, expired at the start of this month.

It has been replaced by a $53 million, six-year contract with ACT, according to state officials.

"The procurement process for the high school accountability assessment has concluded. The State Procurement Office issued its determination for the protests that were filed and denied the appeals," State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders in a May message to colleagues.

"As the result, Illinois will transition to the ACT, beginning with the 2024-25 school year," Sanders said. "We deeply appreciate your patience, value the feedback that you shared, and are eager to partner with you as Illinois transitions to the ACT high school assessments.

The company ACT, the administrator of the test with same name, was purchased by the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Nexus Capital Management in April.

Company officials said the sale will not change the pricing of the ACT test.

According to state education officials, students can still take the SAT or the or PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or NMSQT, on their own, outside of school, in addition to taking the ACT on the day it is administered statewide.

And local school administrators can still choose to administer the SAT or PSAT/NMSQT during the school day, either for all students or just those who opt in, on top of the statewide ACT.

Both forms of standardized tests measure proficiency in core subjects like English and math, although the ACT also includes a science section.

State education officials said that means students will no longer have to separately take the Illinois Science Assessment their junior year, cutting down on the overall time spent taking required standardized tests.

And even though many colleges have no longer consider them mandatory for admissions, Illinois education officials also use them to meet federal mandates under the Every Student Succeeds Act and as part of the accountability measures reported annually through the Illinois Report Card.

In a series of answers to questions about the switchover to the ACT, state education board officials said last month they plan to loosen the definition of "proficiency" starting in summer 2025.

"Illinois currently has the fourth most restrictive definition for proficiency in the nation. It’s harder for a student to be considered proficient in Illinois than practically anywhere else. We are asking Illinois students to jump over hurdles much higher than those in other states. It’s an uneven playing field," it said.

"The result is that our current cut scores mislabel many students who actually are on track for college and career as 'not proficient,' sending the wrong message to students and families."