Idaho Chose SAT Over ACT For Practical Reasons

Results will be released tomorrow  for the 16,ooo high school juniors who took the SAT a few weeks ago. This is the first year Idaho has paid for all juniors to take the college entrance exam. It’s part of a new set of graduation requirements that go into effect for the class of 2013. One is that all students take either the SAT or the ACT.  Idaho universities will accept either.  Only two other states pay for students to take the SAT and eight states pay for the ACT.  State Department of Ed spokeswoman Melissa McGrath says the state considered both, but the SAT representatives made the best offer.

“They came in at a lower cost and that lower cost included the writing assessment, which ACT did not include. It also included an online preparatory course so they could prepare to take the SAT.”

The state paid the company that owns the SAT $920,000  to administer the test. McGrath says the state will keep its options open and in future years could switch to the ACT.