Tag: standardized testing

The ACT is changing, making science optional

two clear glass jars beside several flasks
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For a moment, I won’t talk about the relevance of removing the science portion of the ACT (or making it optional) when science is under attack alongside our American democracy.

I also won’t talk about the movement to reestablish the ACT and SAT (standardized tests) as measures for college acceptance after moving away from using standardized tests in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But now, the ACT will change, much like the SAT did, and make the science section optional. The remaining core tests are English, reading, and math.

The exam will be evolving to “meet the challenges students and educators face” – and that will include shortening the core test and making the science section optional, chief executive Janet Godwin said in a post on the non-profit’s website.

The changes will begin with national online tests in spring 2025 and be rolled out for school-day testing in spring 2026, Godwin said in the post.

The decision to alter the ACT follows changes made to the SAT earlier this year by the College Board, the non-profit organization that develops and administers that test. The SAT was shortened by a third and went fully digital.

Science is being removed from the ACT’s core sections, leaving English, reading and math as the portions that will result in a college-reportable composite score ranging from 1 to 36, Godwin wrote. The science section, like the ACT’s writing section already was, will be optional.

Maybe we should have stuck with leaving the standardized tests out of the college equation…


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Oklahoma adds more virtual charter schools, nearing a ‘saturation point’

capitol building in oklahoma
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Oklahoma, an early adopter in the virtual school space, is adding more virtual charter schools next year.

I’m interested to see how this move plays out since some officials in Oklahoma feel that virtual schooling may be reaching a ‘saturation point’ where everyone who wants to attend virtually is already doing so. The belief going forward is that students will shift between virtual programs based on who has a better marketing campaign–showing the dangers of schools competing as businesses in a marketplace rather than institutions of learning.

Around 5% of Oklahoma’s 700,000 students attend a virtual school, a significantly higher percentage than the national 1% average. Epic, the largest virtual charter school in Oklahoma, serves around 27,000 students across the state.

Virtual schools became wildly popular during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but have seen steady declines in enrollment since then. How long they last, especially when the all-important test scores from these schools are lower than in traditional schools, remains to be seen.

As an advocate of virtual learning and as someone who works with a virtual academy, I hope that states continue to see the value of these programs to serve a particular student population and leave the test scores out of the equation.


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!

Avoid Raising Machines

"That we would train machines to be like us is not surprising. The real scandal is how much we’ve trained ourselves to be like machines." (Austin Kleon, Machines That Make You Feel More Human - Austin Kleon)

“That we would train machines to be like us is not surprising.

The real scandal is how much we’ve trained ourselves to be like machines.”

Austin Kleon

It’s testing season as another school year comes to a close. The time when students get to demonstrate just how well we’ve trained them to be little machines.

We’ve covered the content, given the testing tips, and passed out the booklets or the Chromebooks.

We’ve done everything we can to prepare them for the relentless battery of standardized tests they must endure, all because someone who knows nothing about learning needs evidence that teachers have done their jobs.

They want to know how well we’ve trained our little machines.

There’s just one problem: we don’t train machines. We teach human beings.

Maybe there’s something wrong here.