Bolingbrook Schools to Fund ACT Assessment for Juniors

Submitted by Valley View School District 365U

Valley View School District 365U isn’t waiting around to find out whether the state will fund a college entrance exam for juniors this spring amidst anticipated changes by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for next school year with a switch to the SAT.

Instead, VVSD has decided to sponsor an official ACT assessment for all of its juniors on Tuesday, April 19, at both Romeoville and Bolingbrook high schools. Valley View will pay for the entire assessment unless the state resolves its budget woes and provides re-imbursement for the assessment.

“We believe that taking a recognized college entrance exam plays a vital role in the post-secondary application process,” said Rachel Kinder, VVSD’s Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services. “The scores from this assessment can be used for a variety of purposes including entrance into a college, university, or technical schools, as well as scholarship applications.”

Faced with a new law requiring the inclusion of a college entrance exam in the state’s testing cycle plus an expiring contract with the ACT, Illinois officials decided to contract with SAT instead for next school year. ACT has filed a protest, but experts say the decision most likely will not be overturned.

Further complicating the situation is the impasse between Governor Rauner and legislative leaders that has left the state without a budget since July 1, leaving school districts wondering if any statewide assessment, SAT or ACT, will be funded by the state in 2016.

“It is imperative that we give all of our students an opportunity to take this exam at no expense to them or their families, especially with all the changes occurring with state testing at this time” Kinder said. “The district will fund the ACT assessment this year and will make a determination on the plan going forward once we have additional information from ISBE.”

Students do not need to sign up for the April 19 assessment. It will be administered as part of their normal school day.