Naperville Central, along with the rest of Illinois high schools, is switching from the SAT to the ACT for the federally required high school accountability assessment given to juniors across the state in the spring.
The reasoning behind this switch is due to monetary reasons, as the ACT offered a cheaper test to the state of Illinois after the SAT contract expired in June 2024.
“I know it was like $53 million,” said Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction Steve Jeretina. “I don’t know what the College Board offered, but it was [for] cost savings.”
In addition, ACT’s bid was $10 million cheaper than the one from the SAT.
“[This change] also has a secondary effect that juniors do not have to take the Illinois science assessment,” Testing Coordinator Debra Ericson said. “It’s included in the ACT tests with a science section.”
The ACT contract will conclude after the 2029-30 school year.
The ACT, like the SAT, is state-mandated for all Illinois students to take.
“It’s an accountability assessment,” Ericson said. “It just makes sure that we are providing an education that can be rated on this test.”
The largest difference between the two tests is the timing of them.
“The test duration is a little bit longer, so the SAT was probably around two and a half or two hours and 45 minutes with the writing portion, and it’s probably gonna be closer to about three and a half hours with the ACT writing portion,” Jeretina said. “Freshmen and sophomores are still going to take a PreACT exam, just like there was a pre-SAT. I think it’s just going to be maybe just getting used to the different format.”
According to Ericson, the switch from ACT to SAT has no real effect on college acceptances.
“ACT and SAT are looked at by colleges as equal. They don’t favor one or the other,” Ericson said.
The final step in switching over is simply the instruction of staff, since the ACT exists on a separate platform than the SAT does.
“We’re training staff and hoping that the transition is smooth,” Jeretina said.
On Wednesday, April 9 juniors will take the ACT, while on Thursday, April 10 freshmen and sophomores will take the PreACT.
