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Post by al on Dec 15, 2011 15:11:04 GMT -6
Maybe I missed this earlier - but this essentially makes the April ACT useless as far as college applications. Watch district ACT scores plummet as students no longer prep for this test but rather spend their study time for an earlier ACT and/or SAT.ACT / PSAE Testing Information Important Information for students taking the PSAE / ACT: Beginning this year with the Class of 2013, students taking the PSAE will no longer take the ACT Writing section. Students seeking admission to universities and colleges that require a writing score (including University of Illinois and many other schools) must take the writing section of the ACT or SAT on a national test date. Students are encouraged to check with their specific colleges for requirements. ACT national test dates are available here: www.actstudent.org/regist/dates.html. SAT national test dates can be found here: professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-reasoning/register/test-dates.
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Post by casey on Dec 16, 2011 16:46:12 GMT -6
You are absolutely right Al! 204 has effectively made this April ACT test worthless. The high college bound students will NOT be able to use this ACT test score (most of your better high-end colleges including U of I require the writing test score). Not including the writing portion makes this test therefore useless. A student will not be able to report this test so why would a student try on this test?
The other piece of the puzzle that many may not be aware of this April test date belongs to all IL juniors it is not a national test date. That means when scores are calculated to determine the "curve" (the highest score to equal the 36 as well as each band of scores (in other words what equals a 32?) they are compared only to the pool of students taking the test that day. Not all states take the ACT on THAT same date as IL schools....so that means there are less total kids in the country taking the test (making the gene pool smaller and for some kids "better"). Talk to the seniors as well as current college kids and often times that April test date will be their highest test score. That advantage has now been taken away.
Also, I wonder what dropping the writing portion does to the underpriviledged students in our district? Will their parents be willing to pay to take a national ACT test or will they just be stuck with the ACT test score minus the writing portion. This would obviously limit the schools to which they could really apply.
I'm guessing that this dropping of the writing portion of the ACT was done for monetary reasons (costing 204 less money to administer the test?) but IMO they should give parents the option to "buy" the writing portion of the test. In other words, all students sit for the ACT but if a student is interested in the writing portion of the ACT they stay and pay. Why not? I'd think most parents would be willing to pony up the additional cost (I'm sure it's less than $20) to cover the writing portion. What say you 204? Can we come up with a way to charge students and allow them the option to take the writing portion? If not, why not?
Did other school districts in the state maike the same decision to drop the writing portion? What is the rationale of this decision?
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Post by al on Dec 19, 2011 10:38:13 GMT -6
Asked about this in the district website, got this response -
Thank you for your email. Please know that eliminating the writing portion of the ACT was not District 204's decision. When the ACT is administered as part of the PSAE, the test is paid for the IL State Board of Education. The IL State Board of Education decided to eliminate the writing portion of the test due to fiscal reasons at the state level. Again, it was not our decision. Our district, along with others, approached ACT to ask if we could pay for the writing portion ourselves, but ACT has not allowed school districts to pay for that portion of the test.
Janet Buglio
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Post by macrockett on Dec 19, 2011 12:05:16 GMT -6
Asked about this in the district website, got this response - Thank you for your email. Please know that eliminating the writing portion of the ACT was not District 204's decision. When the ACT is administered as part of the PSAE, the test is paid for the IL State Board of Education. The IL State Board of Education decided to eliminate the writing portion of the test due to fiscal reasons at the state level. Again, it was not our decision. Our district, along with others, approached ACT to ask if we could pay for the writing portion ourselves, but ACT has not allowed school districts to pay for that portion of the test.
Janet Buglio
This is a perfect example of how government works. In this case Illinois State government. And as far as I am concerned, there is little difference between the political parties. To them, it is "me and my friends first, and the rest of you can have the crumbs, if there is anything left." Right now it is the Democrats. You will notice that Quinn has given his own staff multiple raises in the last year. He also made sure that union members could not be fired just before he was elected. And that State income tax increase? Went almost entirely to pay the State's pension contribution for a single year. On the other side of the coin, vendors who take care of people in need go unpaid. In addition, here, our kids pay the price when they now have to go out of their way to sit for another test because, without the essay portion, this one cannot be used (if I understand everything written here). "Fiscal reasons." I read a good solution to this problem in the LTE section of the Tribune a week or so ago. In fact I have read it a number of times. Just keep voting the incumbent out of office. When they realize who they work for and that there is no vested interest in putting themselves first, perhaps they will start doing what is in the best interest of their constituents and the community at large. But excuse me if I don't hold my breath. |
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Post by casey on Dec 20, 2011 13:46:32 GMT -6
Asked about this in the district website, got this response - Thank you for your email. Please know that eliminating the writing portion of the ACT was not District 204's decision. When the ACT is administered as part of the PSAE, the test is paid for the IL State Board of Education. The IL State Board of Education decided to eliminate the writing portion of the test due to fiscal reasons at the state level. Again, it was not our decision. Our district, along with others, approached ACT to ask if we could pay for the writing portion ourselves, but ACT has not allowed school districts to pay for that portion of the test.
Janet Buglio
Thanks Al for checking up on this. I'm glad to have accurate information and am glad to learn that it was a decision made at the State level (though I certainly don't agree with it) and not our District only. That being said, I'm not sure why the District did not put this information out there when they sent parents info about the elimination of the writing portion. Why not explain why it was taken away? Why leave room for anger, frustration, and rumors. I think that most parents are logical and can figure out that the blame here doesn't lie with 204 but rather our state of Illinois State Board of Education. IMO they should have stated why the writing portion was eliminated and Janet Buglio should have sent her email info to all in the district. Oversight, maybe? |
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Post by doctorwho on Dec 20, 2011 17:03:45 GMT -6
Asked about this in the district website, got this response - Thank you for your email. Please know that eliminating the writing portion of the ACT was not District 204's decision. When the ACT is administered as part of the PSAE, the test is paid for the IL State Board of Education. The IL State Board of Education decided to eliminate the writing portion of the test due to fiscal reasons at the state level. Again, it was not our decision. Our district, along with others, approached ACT to ask if we could pay for the writing portion ourselves, but ACT has not allowed school districts to pay for that portion of the test.
Janet Buglio
Thanks Al for checking up on this. I'm glad to have accurate information and am glad to learn that it was a decision made at the State level (though I certainly don't agree with it) and not our District only. That being said, I'm not sure why the District did not put this information out there when they sent parents info about the elimination of the writing portion. Why not explain why it was taken away? Why leave room for anger, frustration, and rumors. I think that most parents are logical and can figure out that the blame here doesn't lie with 204 but rather our state of Illinois State Board of Education. IMO they should have stated why the writing portion was eliminated and Janet Buglio should have sent her email info to all in the district. Oversight, maybe? so, you expected honesty in the communications ? hahaha. yes that would have been the way to go, but remember they are busy circling the wagons for the upcoming referendum, all else will take a back seat |
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