Requiring ACT tests for 11th graders up for vote

Every student would take the ACT under proposal

MADISON, Wis. — Every high school student in Wisconsin would take the ACT college entrance exam during their junior year under a proposal up for a vote in the Legislature’s budget committee.

The plan by State Superintendent Tony Evers and Gov. Scott Walker was before the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee for a vote Tuesday.

A series of tests including the ACT exam for college juniors would replace the Wisconsin Knowledge Concepts Examination starting in the 2014 school year.

All 11th grade students would take the ACT, as well as another test designed to assess job skills called WorkKeys. Students in elementary grades would take a new test being designed by a 28-state consortium that includes Wisconsin.

The state would pay the $50 cost of high school students taking the ACT.