For the first time, high school juniors in public and charter schools on Tuesday took the ACT college entrance exam under a state mandate. The state is using the test as a measuring stick in the state's new accountability system to be implemented this year. The scores will be one way of evaluating how well the state's high schools perform, and how North Carolina stacks up against other states. Students also can submit their ACT scores when they apply to college. The test contains four curriculum-based multiple-choice sections in English, math, reading and science. There also is a writing component.
Late last year, the State Board of Education approved the ACT as a requirement for high school juniors. State leaders have said the ACT was chosen in part because it includes a section on science. At least a half-dozen other states require the ACT, including Michigan, Illinois and Kentucky. The test is free for students, but it will cost the state $4.6 million this year. The state will pay for it through savings from eliminating a 10th grade writing test. The federal government allowed North Carolina to eliminate the 10th grade test, which had been required under the No Child Left Behind law. (Jane Stancill, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/06/12).
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