High School students in Louisiana pursuing a career diploma will no longer be required to take the ACT, even though ten out of 11 BESE members asked lawmakers to reject the legislation. BESE President Ronnie Morris worries it could be a missed opportunity for students who aren’t initially college-bound.
“It’s just making them aware, or helping a lot of these students to appreciate you have potential you didn’t appreciate. And when they take the test see that and it’s a light bulb moment,” said Morris.
Proponents say this will allow the state’s test average to improve because it will be more reflective of education in Louisiana and college-bound students. However, Morris believes it could result in missed opportunities for some students.
“I’ve seen some data in my research on the topic that it’s really one of the more efficient and least expensive ways to recruit kids to college versus even some of the scholarship programs,” said Morris.
Only 10 states require the ACT to be taken; the average score for those states is 19, while the national average is 19.2. Louisiana’s average score is 18.2. Morris said while he’s disappointed lawmakers chose to go against the request of BESE members.
“But the decision’s been made, so we’ll see what that looks like going forward, and a year from now, two years from now that data comes in and we’ll have a look at it again and have that conversation again,” said Morris.
Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, students will no longer be required to take the ACT or the Armed Services Vocation Aptitude Battery.
- Baton Rouge / louisianaradionetwork.com
Brooke Thorington
