Chariot Learning
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Our Curriculum
    • Areas Chariot Learning Serves
  • Services
    • SAT & ACT Prep
    • SAT/ACT TestFlip
    • Academic Coaching
    • Subject Tutoring
    • Strategic Reading Club
    • Proctored Practice Tests
    • GRE Prep
    • College Essay Coaching
    • Roots2Words
  • Calendar
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact
January 9, 2018 by Mike Bergin

Which States Use The SAT or ACT For State Testing?

AmericanSAT“We had reached the conclusion that there was, in fact, too much testing in 11th grade. We thought it was just a tremendous amount of pressure concentrated in a single year.” — Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy
 
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 changed the face of American education by tying federal school funding to assessments based on specific math and reading standards. Specifically, every public high school must administer a statewide standardized test annually to all students, so that every high school student is tested at least once during grades 10-12. However, federal regulations dictate neither a national achievement standard nor a national assessment test. Instead, each individual state develops its own standards and tests.

However, a confluence of factors have convinced a growing number of educators and state officials of several relevant facts:

1. Designing effective standardized tests is really difficult.
2. Administering effective standardized tests is really difficult.
3. Asking students to take too many standardized tests is a great way to incite an opt-out riot.

Interestingly, both the SAT and ACT offer the highest quality standardized tests designed specifically to assess, among other things, math and reading ability in high school students. Both test makers have peerless experience in designing, administering, and scoring this kind of test. Best of all, most college-bound high schoolers would be taking the SAT or ACT anyway. So why not implement one of these tests as a statewide NCLB assessment?

In fact, more and more states are doing just that. According to Education Week, nearly half of states have contracted with the College Board or ACT, Inc. for some form of wide-scale administration in high school. In those states that still use their own assessments, plenty of individual school districts have committed to widescale SAT or ACT testing.
 
ACT
Many states administer the ACT to all public high school juniors, while others use the ACT in conjunction with other tests to assess academic achievement and college readiness. ACT, Inc. reports that, since 2007, students in more than 30 states have earned college-reportable scores taking the ACT in their own classrooms. The following states use the ACT and/or ACT Aspire in some capacity:

Alabama
Arkansas
Hawaii
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
NebraskaMontana
Nevada
North Carolina
North Dakota
South Carolina
Utah
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Many others integrate the PreACT, QualityCore, WorkKeys, or National Career Readiness Certificate into statewide assessment.
 
SAT
Michigan and Illinois used to administer the ACT as a statewide assessment, but have recently committed to use the revised SAT for state testing. More states may be joining them; while the SAT may currently lag behind in the number of states requiring high school students to take it, the College Board is committed to catching up. As of early 2018, the following states will use the SAT in some capacity:

Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Illinois
Maine
Michigan
New Hampshire

Last but not least, certain states like Alaska , Ohio, Tennessee, and Idaho require high school students to take the SAT, the ACT, or one of the other ACT assessments, but these states don’t necessarily tie graduation to scores or pay for testing.

Certain states are moving closer to adopting either or both of the college entrance exams in place of current assessments. Look for news, perhaps as early as this year, out of Arizona, Georgia, Florida, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
 
Moves made by both ACT and the College Board indicate that securing these state contracts are among their top priorities. In fact, the ways the ACT and SAT are being revised these days suggests that their use as statewide assessments may soon supersede their traditional roles as college entrance exams. Look carefully at the list of states above… if your home state isn’t on it yet, it may be there soon.

NOTE: This post was originally published in October 2015 and most recently updated in January 2018.

ACT SAT standardized tests state tests

Previous articleTwo Ways PSAT Scores are MisleadingNext article Why Are There No February ACT Test Centers in New York?
Mike Bergin
Tens of thousands of students a year prep for the SAT & ACT through programs Mike Bergin created or organized. After more than 25 years of intensive experience in the education industry, he's done it all as a teacher, tutor, director, curriculum developer, blogger, podcaster, and best-selling author. Mike founded Chariot Learning in 2009 to deliver on the promise of what truly transformative individualized education can and should be.

Helping high schoolers with tests, school, and life is what Chariot Learning is all about. Let us know how we can help you!

Latest Posts

  • Paean to the #2 Pencil
  • Who Does College Admissions Serve?
  • Can You Accept Criticism?
  • Happy Pi Day!
  • College Admissions Testing for the HS Classes of 2024 and 2025

What is TestFlip?

Learn about the ultimate in self-directed supplemental SAT/ACT prep, powered by Chariot Learning:

Subscribe to Mike’s Podcast

Subscribe to Tests and the Rest

PARENT GROUP AND NEWSLETTER

Are you an Upstate New York parent with questions about college admissions, testing, and scholarships? The Upstate NY College Conversations Facebook group is for you. Join today!

And also sign up for College Road, our free email newsletter delivering expert educational advice, test news, admissions action steps, special offers, and more.

Testimonials

Because of the tutoring Chariot Learning provided and the positive outcome, my son was accepted into colleges that he may not have been with his SAT scores prior to their services.

Margie, Fairport mom

Read more testimonials...

PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is the ultimate college admissions industry podcast. Join Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley every Tuesday and Friday as they discuss the latest issues in testing, admissions, learning, and education with leading experts.
© 2023 Chariot Learning, LLC. All rights reserved.