By Ryan Quinn (Charleston Gazette-Mail).
The West Virginia Department of Education has chosen the SAT as the new statewide standardized test to replace the Smarter Balanced exam for high school juniors this spring.The ACT, which also bid for the contract, is more popular among students and, at least recently, was supported by several education leaders and the governor.
House Bill 2711, which state legislators passed and Gov. Jim Justice signed into law this year, banned Smarter Balanced and effectively limited the state’s choice for a high school standardized test to the SAT or the ACT.
Corley Dennison, vice chancellor for academic affairs for the state Higher Education Policy Commission, which oversees two- and four-year colleges, said that, of seniors who took the tests during their high school years through the end of 2016, 11,682 took the ACT, while 2,077 took the SAT.
This will be the first time, at least in recent years, that a popular college-entrance exam will be given to most West Virginia public school students for free. Dennison said he doesn’t recall such a thing happening as far back as the 1980s. Go to article
