Illinois public schools transitioned from the SAT to ACT for the 2024-2025 school year. With this major switch, a lot of confusion and questions have arisen.

In Spring 2025, juniors will be required to take the ACT. Since there is no practice ACT, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will continue to take the PSAT on October 23rd.

“While [the PSAT] is not designed to prepare for the [ACT]…the tests are designed to assess student progress toward college readiness in the respective subject areas…For both tests, students may benefit from test-taking strategies,” Assistant Principal of Operations Steve Parnther said.

The ACT is different from the SAT, it is an hour shorter than the SAT – two hours compared to three hours. There is also a science section on the test. When taking the SAT, students must separately take the Illinois Science Assessment. The ACT scores reading and writing heavier than math and science – 50 percent reading and writing, 25 percent math and  25 percent science.

The switch from the SAT to the ACT has upset students. Some feel that it was too abrupt and that students have not been given enough notice or time to prepare.

“It’s incredibly unfair that the switch has happened so suddenly. From eighth grade to sophomore year, we’ve been taking the PSAT, and suddenly we get this email saying we’re taking the ACT instead? What about everything we’ve studied for and the effort it took.  We’ve been practicing the PSAT for three years to get ready for the SAT and now they tell us we aren’t even taking the test,” junior Jolene Jude said.

Some students have also felt stressed by this change and worry about what it will entail. Students feel they have not been properly informed on the specifics of the ACT and how they can prepare for it.

“Personally, I don’t like it because there is a science part, but also because I’ve been studying for the SAT…I don’t really know what the ACT looks like. I’m not really prepared for it so I don’t know the difference. I’ve been using Khan Academy to study for the SAT and I don’t know if they have something for the ACT. I just feel a little more unprepared for it,” sophomore Alexis Chiong said.

The ACT is slowly approaching, and there are a few things students can do to ensure they are prepared for the test.

“In the past we provided SAT prep. We intend to provide ACT prep this year. Overall, focus on learning and understanding what is happening in all of your classes because that is what the ACT and SAT ultimately aim to measure,” Parnther said.