SAT & ACT Compete with SBAC in California

JESSE ROSALES

STAFF WRITER

An increasing number of school districts in California are offering either the SAT or ACT for free to all high school juniors. Research shows that there is a significant increase in four-year college enrollment in schools that utilize the SAT as their benchmark. 22 districts in California offered the SAT for free. Two years prior, only four districts offered it for free according to the College Board. SAT and ACT charge $42 per student for the basic test, about $60 with an essay, although districts often negotiate a discount. The Long Beach Unified School District paid $36 per student.

“The SAT is not a perfect example of showing my capabilities, however having a PSAT available for all students will significantly help them in future SAT exams,” said Moajarra Mosissa

Districts have reported higher test scores when offering the Pre SAT, or PSAT, in earlier grade. The percentage of district students who qualified for CSU and UC admission increased to 62 percent, compared with 43 percent statewide. A study in the journal Education Finance and Policy found that universal ACT testing increased college enrollment by 2 percent overall.

Contending that Smarter Balanced is duplicative, Long Beach approached the state Board of Education for authorization to drop Smarter Balanced Assessment and utilize scores on the SAT to meet the government law. Twelve states as of now utilize the SAT or ACT for that reason.

“Students are already taking multiple standardized tests and it makes sense to reduce the number of exams if they are not necessary,” said sophomore Amy Bui.

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Board of Education President Michael Kirst denied the request in a letter in February on claims that the Smarter Balance Assessment was more effective in understanding California’s own goals for education under Common Core. Long Beach supported Assembly Bill 1602. It would have built up an experimental run program for Long Beach to utilize the SAT or ACT for the eleventh grade test for a long time and report back to the Legislature on its practically identical handiness. Steinhauser convinced Democratic Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, who speaks to Long Beach, to be the bill’s creator, and the Assembly Education Committee, which O’Donnell seats, collectively affirmed the bill.

The College Board says that in May, Oregon turned into the most recent state in the Smarter Balanced Curriculum to choose to supplant the eleventh grade test with either the SAT or ACT.