Michigan high school juniors will take the SAT instead of the ACT starting in spring 2016. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced the switch on Wednesday.
The state has provided a free college entrance exam for eleventh graders on the state’s standardized test for several years.
The College Board – the company that administers the SAT – won a three-year, $17.1 million contract.
MDE spokesperson Martin Ackley says the SAT will be a better test that will save the state money.
“It scored higher than any other bidders,” said Ackley. “But it also came in at $15 million less than the other bidders, so this is a tremendous savings for Michigan taxpayers.”
Ackley says the SAT is being reworked to better assess students’ knowledge of subjects and will be “far better” aligned to the state’s standards compared to other bidders.
He says students should not have to worry about Michigan universities accepting the results.
“The fact that there will be 115,000 Michigan juniors taking the SAT every year, I’m sure if a college or university in Michigan has not been taking the SAT that they will be accepting the SAT scores.”
Students who wish to take the ACT after spring 2016 can still do so, but they will have to pay for it themselves and take the test outside of school.
