2019 Education magazine

Page 28 2019 “Education making a difference” LINCOLN DAILY NEWS Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 C hristmas Break is over. Now parents of high school juniors may be asking, “How do I know which test is best for my student: the ACT or SAT?” Well, there are some potential problems with that line of thinking: The only way a student would be able to determine that would be to take the ACT and SAT multiple times WHILE keeping up with all their high school courses, homework, quizzes and tests, not to mention after school activities like sports. That’s not realistic for most students. A student should make their decision based on what other college-bound students are doing because that is their competition. During the 20th century, there were colleges that preferred one test over the other. However, we live in the 21st century. Now, all colleges accept the ACT or SAT for admissions. However, college scholarships are a different story. More college scholarship opportunities are connected to the ACT than the SAT, and this is why most college-bound students focus on the ACT. Consider the following facts: All colleges and universities are required to report various statistics to the National Center for Education Statistics. One of the statistics that is tracked is the percentages of students that submit specific college admissions test scores on their college applications. Look at the major public schools in Illinois. The following percentages represent college applications submitted in the Fall of 2017 that included ACT scores: University of Illinois (85%), Illinois State (98%), Eastern Illinois (97%), Northern Illinois (97%), Western Illinois (96%), and Southern Illinois (94%). Look how high those percentages are, and those would include Illinois public school students that took the taxpayer-funded State SAT. The clear majority of students were still taking the ACT. ACT or SAT: What is a college bound high school student to do? CONTINUED Jason.Franklin