All Dist. 202 Students to Take PSAE as Juniors

All juniors, regardless of how many credits they've earned, will be required to take the Prairie State Achievement Exam in their third year of high school, the board decided Monday.

By state law, students must take the exam to graduate. District 202 had required students to earn 12 credits by the end of their sophomore year in order to take the exam, believing that once students earned those 12 credits, they would be well-prepared for the test.

District officials were concerned that students who did not earn 12 credits would not have seen all the material presented on the test.

But as a result, a large number of students were not taking the exam, which includes the ACT college entrance test, until the spring of their senior year, hurting their ability to get into college or get on the right track for post-secondary opportunities.

Also, the students who were taking the exam shortly before graduation were not always taking it seriously.

With the changes, all students in their third year of high school will take the exam. School officials are hoping the change will help students make the necessary changes to better prepare them for life after high school.

The exam will offer the students a benchmark so they can focus on what they need to do to improve and allow the students to take the exam again, said Glenn Wood, the district’s director of high school and middle school curriculum and instruction.

Students will know their limitations earlier in their high school careers or realize that they are ready for college, Wood said.

“We are focusing on all students to get them ready for college,” he said. “Whether or not they take advantage of that is up to them.”

In addition to helping students make plans for post-secondary success, the new change will hold schools accountable for preparing students for the exam and create an expectation for the students that they have to take the exam, Wood said.