When Illinois high school students take their annual state assessments next year, they will take the ACT exam rather than the SAT, as they have in recent years.
Both of these standardized tests measure proficiency in core subjects such as English and math. They are also commonly used for scholarship applications and college admissions, although many colleges have stopped requiring them.
The Illinois State Board of Education also uses them as part of the battery of tests that schools administer each year to meet federal mandates under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The results of these tests are reported annually on the Illinois School Report Card and used to hold schools and school districts accountable for meeting core academic standards.
Illinois began using the SAT with essay as the state assessment for 11th graders in the spring of 2017. Two years later, it began using the PSAT 8/9 exam for ninth graders and the PSAT 10 for high school sophomores.
The inclusion of a college entrance exam in the state’s annual assessment program was seen as a bonus, because it gave nearly every high school graduate a reportable, state-paid score that they could also use for college and scholarship applications.
In recent years, many colleges and universities have stopped requiring the SAT or ACT as part of their application and admissions processes.
In 2021, Illinois lawmakers passed the Fair Admissions to Higher Education Act, which requires all public universities and community colleges to adopt a “test-optional” admissions policy for students, meaning they can voluntarily choose whether or not to include them in their application materials. But the state board has continued to use the tests as part of its federally mandated statewide assessments.
The switch to the ACT comes as the agency’s contract with the College Board, the nonprofit that administers the SAT, was set to expire June 30. The state agency decided to open the bidding process and solicit sealed proposals from testing companies. The decision to award the ACT a six-year, $53 million contract was finalized in May. Students will take the new test in spring 2025.
One benefit of the test change, according to the state agency, is that the ACT includes a science component, while the SAT only covers the core subjects of reading, writing and math. That means high school freshmen no longer need to take a separate Illinois science assessment, reducing testing time.
This change also means that students who still want to take the SAT or PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test will have to do so themselves. The state will not fund these tests.
