ACT Archives - Tennessee Star

Commentary: MIT Bucks the Trend and Reinstates Its SAT/ACT Requirement

April 4, 2022April 3, 2022 Admin

SAT multiple choice exam with a number 2 pencil

In case you missed it, on Monday MIT announced that they would be reinstating their SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles. Like many universities, MIT had ditched the tests during the pandemic.

Even prior to the pandemic, however, there had been a widespread push to abandon these tests to enhance diversity.

“Data shows tests like the SAT are biased against students from low-income households. Poorer students tend to perform worse on the test,” CNN reported in 2015. “Blacks and Hispanics also consistently score lower on the SAT than whites.” (CNN conveniently left out that Asian Americans score much higher than whites, presumably because it didn’t fit the narrative.)

The Online SAT Will Be Shorter and Easier

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Admin

A common college admissions test, the SAT, will roll out its online version in the U.S. starting in March 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported. The new test is reportedly expected to be easier, shorter and simpler.

The test will be reduced from three hours to two with shorter reading passages followed by single questions, while math problems will be less wordy with calculators permitted for every question, according to Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of college readiness assessments at the College Board, the test’s operator and regulator, the WSJ reported.

“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give and more relevant,” Rodriguez told the WSJ.

Georgia Students’ Average ACT Score Rises, Beating National Average and Bucking National Trend

October 14, 2021October 13, 2021 Bradley Vasoli

Nationwide, American College Test (ACT) scores are down, but Georgia high-school students are defying the trend and scoring higher than the national average, according to new data.

Peach-State students’ average composite score on all components of the college-entrance examination in 2021 is 22.6, compared with a 20.3-point average U.S. score—the lowest national mean in more than a decade. (The highest score someone can achieve on the ACT is 36.) This is the fifth year in a row when Georgians exceeded the national average ACT score.

Commentary: Critical Race Theory Has Radically Transformed America’s Corporations and Public Schools

June 3, 2021June 2, 2021 Admin

Just four weeks ago, I wrote about the rising resistance to the woke craze and critical race theory, and much has transpired since then.

Here in California, even Disneyland has not been spared the wrath of the crazies. On May 7, the incomparable Christopher Rufo reported that “The Wokest Place on Earth” now includes employee trainings on systemic racism, white privilege, white fragility, and white saviors, and also launched racially segregated “affinity groups” at the company’s headquarters.

But just five days later, Rufo disclosed that Disney “has removed its entire antiracism program from the company’s internal portal, effectively scrubbing it out of existence.” Rufo added, “This is a major victory in the war against ‘woke capital,’” and noted that a “significant backlash from the public” was responsible for the shift. While some skeptics suggested that the policy was being “tweaked or rebranded, not scrubbed,” Rufo responded, “Possibly, but small victories start to add up. We’ve set the precedent—and forced a $329 billion company to back down.”

University of Tennessee, Knoxville to Require SAT, ACT Scores For Home-Schoolers, But Not For Public School Students Through Fall 2025

June 1, 2021June 9, 2021 Corinne Murdock

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) will be test-optional until fall 2025 for all applicants – unless you were home-schooled. UTK will prohibit home-schoolers from capitalizing on their test-optional policy, as well as those students from schools that didn’t use alpha or numerical grading systems. UTK said their decision reflected a commitment to equity in a press release issued on Thursday.

The test-optional policy doesn’t mean that eligible applicants get a free pass entirely from admissions. According to the UTK admissions page, applicants that don’t submit their ACT or SAT scores will be considered a “test-optional applicant” and must submit an additional essay. However, the essay has less to do with academics and more to do with character – the current prompt this year asks applicants to recount an example of their leadership in a personal essay.

University System of Georgia Reinstates ACT, SAT Requirement

May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 Admin

The University System of Georgia is requiring for next school year’s round of admissions either ACT or SAT test scores from all applying students.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Get Schooled Blog reports that this is part of a larger push by the system to firmly return Georgia’s schools to the pre-COVID status quo.

The system said in a statement that it had “asked all campuses to plan for resuming normal operations for the Fall 2021 semester.”

Commentary: COVID-19 Shut Down the SAT and ACT, but Not the Classic Learning Test

March 29, 2020March 28, 2020 Admin

COVID-19 has disrupted student life across the nation, closing schools and leading to major questions about what’s in store for high school juniors and seniors as they take their next steps toward college.

Commentary: Battle for a Better Test

January 31, 2020January 30, 2020 Admin

Why is ACT afraid of a four year old testing company that primarily serves homeschoolers and private schooled students? Why don’t public colleges in Tennessee want a source of high-performing students if they fall outside the traditional educational path? Why don’t our legislators want to give a voice to the students the Classic Learning Test (CLT) is serving?

As Colleges Move to Do Away With the SAT in the Name of Diversity, Detroit High School Valedictorian Struggles With Low-Level Math

December 5, 2019December 4, 2019 Admin

The valedictorian of a Detroit high school is reportedly struggling with basic math in college.

The Tennessee Star Report: Noah Tyler of Classic Learning Test Talks About Their Alternative to the ‘Progressive’ Influenced SAT and ACT Standardized Testing

October 2, 2019October 1, 2019 Julie Carr

Live from music row on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy spoke to Chief Strategy Officer Noah Tyler from Classic Learning Test about their new approach to standardized testing.

Founders of Classic Learning Test, an Alternative to the ‘Progressive’ SAT and ACT, to Focus on Acceptance by Tennessee Colleges and High Schools in Q4 2019

September 30, 2019September 30, 2019 Jason M. Reynolds

You may start hearing more about an alternative to the SAT and ACT as the creators of the CLT plan a major publicity push in Tennessee over the next three months.

Tennessee Students Still Struggle After Common Core ‘Rebranded’

June 25, 2019June 24, 2019 Beth Lear

Students attending K-12 public schools in Tennessee are struggling to perform above average on national standardized tests. Partially adopted in 2010 and fully implemented by the 2013-14 school year, Common Core State Standards (CCSS) failed to produce the academic results expected. The Tennessee Department of Education and Governor Bill…

Lt. Governor Randy McNally Blasts Testing Firm ACT, Calls on Comptroller to Investigate

December 12, 2017December 12, 2017 Admin

Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) went public on Monday with a letter he sent to Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson on December 7, calling on him to open an investigation in college aptitude testing firm ACT, Inc. “Last week, I sent a letter to Tennessee Comptroller Justin P Wilson requesting an investigation…

ACT Mishap Forcing Hundreds of Students in East Tennessee to Retake Test

November 23, 2017November 22, 2017 Wendy Wilson

More than 400 students at a Knoxville high school are being asked to retake the ACT because of a testing mishap last month, reports WBIR Channel 10. Bearden High School administered the test Oct. 17 with test booklets it received intended for Oct. 3. ACT has not responded to questions about…

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Sheila Butt: Bill Focuses On The Success of Our Students

February 21, 2017February 21, 2017 Laura Baigert

Rep. Sheila Butt (R-Columbia) told The Tennessee Star in an exclusive interview on Capitol Hill that HB 617, a bill she has sponsored in the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly, will improve options for high school testing in math and English language arts. “HB 617 is a bill which…

Commentary: Theory of Devolution

February 13, 2017February 12, 2017 JC Bowman

What devolution means is that the power to make decisions is returned to those closest to the people. Taxpayer money is spent for the needs at the local level, rather than at the national level.