The Kentucky Department of Education’s fight to switch the state’s required college admissions exam has come to an end, after a protest over the awarding of a contract to the administrator of the SAT was denied.
For nearly two decades, all Kentucky high schoolers have been required to take the ACT their junior year. But this spring, they will instead take the SAT.
The change comes after the state’s ACT contract ended in June. The department’s new contract with the SAT administrator is for four years, with options for five additional one-year extensions. KDE would have paid $1.85 million to ACT this year for the testing but will instead pay $1.5 million to SAT, according to KDE documents.
The switch will save the state $3.6 million over a nine-year period, the documents state.
ACT protested the switch in July, alleging the state department did not follow state law in awarding the contract to the SAT administrator. But in a newsletter sent Sept. 23, KDE wrote the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet “determined that the protest lacked merit and did not demonstrate any prejudice.”
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Students can choose to also take the ACT — an exam some colleges prefer and that could better fit an individuals’ academic needs — though they’d need to pay for that test themselves.
Students can also choose to pay to retake the SAT in order to potentially achieve a higher score. The cost of the ACT is between $68 and $97. The cost of the SAT is $68. Both tests have waiver options for students from impoverished households.
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What is the difference between the SAT and ACT?
The SAT is a shorter test than the ACT, with fewer sections.
The ACT lasts two hours and 55 minutes, with separate English, math, reading and science sections. Students can also add an optional 40-minute writing section.
The SAT lasts two hours and 14 minutes, with a reading and writing section, as well as a math section. Students are given an “analysis in science” score based off answers in those sections.
In 2024, several changes were made to the test including:
Shortening reading passages from 500-750 words to 25-150 words;
Allowing the use of a calculator for the entire math section (as does the ACT);
Restructuring the test to be an adaptative exam, meaning the difficulty of questions changes based on students’ early performance.
What resources can students access to prepare for the SAT?
In its newsletter regarding the finality of the switch on Sept. 23, KDE included several links that students and families can turn to ahead of this spring to better prepare for the SAT. Those links include:
Understanding Scores, which “explain what SAT results mean and how they connect to college readiness;”
More Than a Score, which “highlights the many ways SAT results can open opportunities beyond admissions;”
And a parent’s guide that “offers clear steps to encourage preparation, reduce test anxiety, and connect students to free, personalized practice tools.”
Krista Johnson covers education and children. Have story ideas or questions? Contact her at kjohnson3@gannett.com and subscribe to her newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky officially switches to SAT after ACT protest denied