Kentucky high school students will take the SAT as their college entrance exam starting this school year.
Since 2006, high school juniors have been required to take the ACT, but the state's
contract with that testing provider expired in June.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) announced it had reached a deal with the College Board to administer the SAT to high school juniors starting in spring 2026, but ACT protested the awarding of the contract.
KDE worked with the Finance and Administration Cabinet to ensure it complied with all procurement laws, and the Cabinet determined that the protest "lacked merit and did not demonstrate any prejudice," according to a statement from KDE. The protest filed against the College Board contract was denied.
Jennifer Stafford, Associate Commissioner of the Office of Assessment and Accountability at KDE, spoke to school superintendents in a July webcast.
"Many districts are already familiar with The College Board," Stafford said. "Several districts use AP exams and courses at the high school level, so this existing relationship should help with the transition."
The SAT's digital format makes the assessment shorter than the ACT at two hours and 14 minutes. The scoring is also different, and the test is adaptive.
Both the Reading and Writing section and the Math section are divided into two equal-length and separately timed parts called modules. Based on the performance of the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult overall, according to a news release from KDE.
Unlike the ACT, the SAT doesn't have a science section.
"That is a unique design of the SAT that delivers an analysis of science score that's generated by performance in those two sections, both reading and writing, as well as math," explained Stafford.
Families will have resources to help with the transition, including free test preparation materials.
The SAT is widely accepted by four-year colleges and universities across the U.S. In Kentucky, most public institutions, including the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky University and Western Kentucky University, consider SAT scores for admission, even when submission is optional.
The initial four-year contract for the SAT, with a cost of $30 per student locked in over the four years, has the potential to save the Commonwealth up to $350,000 annually, according to KDE.
Copyright 2025 WKU Public Radio
