South-Western Subject Matter: District switching from ACT to SAT for 2022-23
Students spend years in school making plans for their future, whether it is a career-intent or with university on their minds.
When they reach junior status in high school, students in Ohio are given a free opportunity to test with either the SAT or ACT in their school district. So it is not uncommon for students and families to add the phrase “have to get a good ACT score'' to their academic planning vernacular.
At a first glance, the tests do not appear very different from the time they take (approximately three hours and 35 minutes is allotted for the ACT, and 3:50:00 is set aside for the SAT). Each covers the same basic subjects: reading, comprehension, problem-solving and math.
The South-Western City School District has given the ACT for many years historically, but after much consideration, research, exploration and input from stakeholders, the decision was made for the SAT to be the exam of choice for the 2022-23 school year.
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With the switch, the move to the SAT opens the door for new PSAT connections that did not exist previously. When students take the SAT, they are connected to approximately $300 million in scholarship opportunities. Over time, when students take the PSAT, they are given a score, and they may use supplemental programs through a partnership with online platform Khan Academy that teaches students how to navigate the site and continue their own online learning while also continuing to focus on SAT growth.
With the SAT, students, families and educators can track progress toward college readiness year to year, which denotes a change from the traditional ACT score that comes to families. When students take the SAT, the student score report will pinpoint areas of academic strengths and weaknesses, review demonstrated skills and link to their College Board account with Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy.
In evaluating data points that could help students further their performance in recent months, in a recent study of who took the PSAT and then went on to take the SAT, 16,000 students saw gains of 200 points or more, according to the College Board (based on 250,000 students from the class of 2017).
In order to support the students, the SAT’s College Board also provides support to educators with self-guided professional development, e-learning modules and lesson plans that support content within the classroom.
In place of the annual district offering of ACT Testing Day, the South-Western City School District will move to the SAT with an offering in late February or early March. Should you want your student to take the ACT, local opportunities still will be available on Saturdays. Register at act.org/.
Although the move from SAT to ACT seems substantial in the upper grades, our resolve to help students and families navigate the change is unwavering. And although such testing as the SAT provides a one-day snapshot of one’s academic performance, it is only but a piece of the collegiate and career planning journey.
Beyond these tests can be found an army of resources and school staff from Central Crossing, Franklin Heights, Grove City, Westland and the South-Western Career Academy at the ready to help each student be all they can be.
We encourage you to ask questions, pursue available resources and tap into our SWCSD family of educators – all here to help families and students navigate not only the SAT but also the career planning process.
Heidi Stevenson is the South-Western City School District coordinator of data, assessment and accountability.
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: South-Western Subject Matter: District switching from ACT to SAT for 2022-23
