By Eric Stock
NORMAL – Students who count on a good ACT score to get into a good college might have to count on their parents to foot the bill.
Unit 5 superintendent Mark Daniel said with state funding for the ACT in question, school districts would have to find funding for students who want to take the college readiness exam.
“ACT is widely accepted, and now we are moving back to students whose parents will be providing the funding for that test,” Daniel said. “Surely for those students who cannot, we will probably have to find a way to assist them.”
Daniel told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin, he doesn’t oppose the new PARCC test, but said students are being tested too much.
“It’s another national exam. If we are going to do it, let’s do it well,” Daniel said. “It’s going to impact what’s happening in the classroom not a year from now, but we want our teachers to have that information so they can do something within, say, the next 24 hours.”
He said standardized tests need to be streamlined.
Daniel added it’s unclear how much impact the ACT exam will have if colleges start using the new PARCC exam to measure a student’s college readiness.
The BloNo Student Union is planning a rally to protest the PARCC tests on Monday afternoon in Uptown Normal.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Daniel.
Eric Stock can be reached at eric.stock@cumulus.com.
