![]() Mayra Carlos, Staff Reporter January 25, 2016 There was a lot of confusion about which test juniors would take this year: the ACT or the New Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Why did it take so long to figure out which test CPS would administer? The ACT has been taken by juniors for free with the fees paid for by the state of Illinois. Unlike the SAT, ACT didn’t penalize students for guessing, the writing portion of the test was always optional, took less time, and that meant saving a few dollars. However, this may change very soon. According to Assistant Principal, Mr. Newman, the state of Illinois currently doesn’t have a budget. Mr. Newman explained, “When the state decided to choose between the ACT or the SAT, they went with the lower bid, which was SAT.” But things didn’t stop there. Mr.Newman said, “ACT got mad and they decided to fight back and took Ilinois to court because ACT didn’t want to lose out on their money.” While ACT and the Illinois Board of Education (ISBE) wait on the ruling, the decision was made by CPS to stick with the ACT and administer the test to juniors on May 3. Students will have to wait to retake the test if they fail to come on the testing day which means that this could delay their college applications. Meanwhile, it looks like the SAT will be the college entrance exam for future juniors beginning with the 2016-2017 school year. The new SAT format is 3 hours long, not including the optional writing portion, students will no longer be penalized for guessing, and the scoring system has changed. The new SAT may be different but some students who have taken the PSAT agree that while looks like the ACT, it’s still harder. Mr. Newman remains optimistic despite the changes. “Once somebody confirms something, we can adjust, and I think that our students will be able to adjust the same way , but we need to choose a lane and stay in that lane for a while so the students can be prepared for these tests,” he said.
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