Naperville School District 203 Board of Education student ambassadors weighed in on the debate over switching the college entrance exam that all juniors take from the ACT to the SAT.
Naperville North senior Abby Rader believes students would be at a disadvantage if they were required to take the SAT instead of the ACT in the spring.
“They’re already studying for it (the ACT),” she said during Monday night’s board meeting. “It would be a waste of their time.”
Kevin Angell, senior from Naperville Central High School, said that if the SAT was required, he was confident the students could handle it; but he said he definitely prefers sticking with the ACT.
District 203 will administer the ACT in spring 2016, and with no funds forthcoming from the General Assembly, the district will pay the $80,000 cost out of its own budget, officials said.
Like all Illinois students, District 203 juniors have been taking the ACT since 2001. Illinois state officials are transitioning to the SAT, but have not made a decision on whether to make the SAT mandatory, or offer it as an option for spring 2016.
Naperville School District 203 Assistant Superintendent Tim Wierenga said the state could still settle on the SAT for the spring, but added that “with the timeline it does not seem possible,” especially due to unresolved budget battles in Springfield.
Superintendent Dan Bridges said there had been an increase in district students attending college after the ACT was made mandatory.
“We think it’s the right thing to do for our kids,” he said of the decision to pay for the ACT.
No one disagreed, but board members were unhappy with the state’s indecision.
“Don’t you think we deserve better from the state,” Susan Crotty asked. “These kind of disruptions are detrimental.”
Jackie Romberg didn’t criticize the SAT, but argued, “you don’t change horses in the middle of the stream.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.
