High Schools to Replace ACT with SAT

A big change is in store for the Michigan Merit Examination, the minimum-competency test for high school students in the state. Beginning next year, all high school juniors in Michigan will take the SAT college entrance exam instead of the ACT, according to state education officials. Houghton-Portage Township Schools Superintendent Doreen Klingbeil says the announcement did come as a surprise but it likely won’t impact the students’ mindset for the exams.

The SAT emphasizes aptitude and the ACT emphasizes curriculum. Both the college entrance assessment and work skills tests are required in state law to be provided free to all high school students. According to reports, students who wish to take the ACT will likely have to pay for it themselves.