Is it mandatory for districts and schools to administer the state-funded ACT or SAT?
State law requires that schools provide the administration of a national college and career readiness assessment used for college admission (ACT or SAT) each spring to grade 11 students, who entered grade 9 after July 1, 2014.
To ensure that every student can participate in the state-funded administration of the ACT or SAT, districts and schools should prepare to test all students. This includes registering all eligible students and requesting accommodations that may be required for each student.
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Is it mandatory that all juniors take the state-funded ACT or SAT?
Beginning with the spring 2025 administration for the class of 2026, a parent or guardian may elect for their student not to participate in the state-funded ACT or SAT as provided in
state law.
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Are there specified procedures required or recommended for schools to solicit, document, and report parent choice?
The Department is not mandating specific procedures for this situation. Districts and schools should make parents aware of their right to opt their students out of these tests. Districts and schools should obtain and document information on parental choice according to their own policies.
Districts will report this information to the Department only in the Education Management Information System (EMIS). Information about reporting can be found on the
EMIS page of the Department website.
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Are there other reasons a student would not take the ACT or SAT?
There are also excusals for students with disabilities, students who have already attained a remediation-free score, and English learners. For excused students, the Department encourages but does not require schools to request that a parent place in writing a decision not to participate, so that there is a record of why the student was not tested. A student who could qualify for these types of excusals cannot be prohibited from taking the ACT or SAT if the student would like to take the assessment.
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Which schools are eligible to give the state-funded administration of the college admission test?
All public schools, including community schools and online schools, are required to offer the state-funded ACT or SAT to their juniors.
Districts and schools may work with the Joint Vocational School Districts (JVSDs) or career centers to facilitate the administration of the state-funded ACT or SAT. The home district or school is responsible for ensuring the students in their district have the opportunity to participate in the college admission test.
Chartered nonpublic schools not accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) must administer the state-funded ACT or SAT to their juniors, unless they administer an approved alternative test. The state will pay for the ACT or SAT for all students attending chartered nonpublic schools that are not accredited by the ISACS. In the case of students attending chartered nonpublic schools that are accredited by ISACS, the state will only pay for the ACT or SAT for students with a state scholarship.
Homeschool students and students who attend nonchartered nonpublic schools, as defined here, may request to take the test at their district of residence, and the state will cover the cost. Homeschool students should work with their district of residence to register and take the test.
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Which tests can be administered?
Each district will select either ACT or SAT to offer to grade 11 students. Districts and schools will have the opportunity to select the college admission test for their district. The Department coordinates collection of this information from districts and schools, which takes place typically during the months of August and September of each year prior to the spring administration of the test.
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Is there a cost?
The state of Ohio pays for the ACT
or SAT one time to all eligible high school students during the state-funded administration of the exam in the spring of their junior year. The district or student would pay for the cost of additional administrations of the ACT or SAT (prior to or after the state-sponsored administration) that students choose to take.
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Can the district or student pay for additional ACT or SAT tests outside of the state administration?
Yes. Students may take and districts may administer these college admission tests at their own expense. The district or student would pay for the cost of additional administrations of the ACT or SAT (prior to or after the state-sponsored administration).
The district selects either the SAT or ACT to offer for their state-sponsored administration of the test. If a district chooses to offer an administration of the other exam, it must participate in a site establishment process for both the exam selected for state administration purposes and a separate site establishment process for the secondary exam if they choose to offer both tests.
Students who choose to take the ACT or SAT on an individual basis and in addition to the exam offered during the state-sponsored testing are responsible for all aspects of the registration process including registration, payment, and date selection.
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What subjects do these assessments cover? Does the state administration of the ACT or SAT include the writing/essay sections?
ACT: The state administration of the ACT includes the primary subject areas of reading, English, mathematics and science. The state testing of the ACT does not include the optional writing test.
SAT: The state administration of the SAT includes the primary subject areas of reading, writing and language, and mathematics. The state administration does not include the optional essay section.
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Where can I find more information about the ACT or SAT?
More information regarding the SAT and ACT can be found on the ACT or SAT (College Board) websites or by contacting ACT or College Board.
ACT:
SAT (College Board):
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How are the ACT/SAT data used on the Ohio School Report Card?
Historically, ACT and SAT assessments have been part of Ohio’s School Report Card as part of the College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness Component (formerly Prepared for Success). The College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness Component examines how prepared the graduating class from a district or school is as they transition to post-secondary education, enter the workforce, or join the armed forces. The readiness of a graduating class is estimated by calculating the number of students who achieve one or more of the component measure goals. Students who reach remediation-free benchmarks on all parts of either the ACT or the SAT assessments are considered “ready” for post-high school life. Additionally, ACT and SAT assessment participation is included on Ohio’s School Report Card as a report-only measure. More information can be found in the
College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness Technical Documentation.
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Are there consequences on the Ohio School Report Card if a student does not take the ACT/SAT?
No. There are no consequences to a district or school report card if a student does not take the ACT or SAT assessment. The College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness component only considers students’ performance on ACT/SAT assessments that were reported to EMIS with a valid score.
Students who do not test for any reason, including parent/student choice of not testing, will not negatively impact the Report Card results. However, not taking the ACT or SAT does reduce the opportunity for inclusion in the numerator of the College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness Component.
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If a student does not take the ACT or SAT in the spring of their junior year, but they take one or both tests at their own expense during another administration date, is the other data included in the Ohio School Report Card’s Prepared for Success calculation?
The College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness Component uses all available ACT or SAT test scores when determining if a student scored remediation-free on either the ACT or SAT. Scores should be reported in EMIS even if a student takes the test sometime other than the spring of grade 11. Such students will be included in the report-only College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness participation rate data as having participated in the test. If these students meet the remediation-free score, they will be included in the numerator of the College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness Component calculation.
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