Raimondo wants to make SAT and PSAT testing free for public high school students

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo is proposing $500,000 be set aside as part of her 2017 budget to make college entrance SAT and PSAT testing free for public high school students.
The money would be set as a line item in the state Department of Education budget for 10th and 11th graders, a spokeswoman for Raimondo said.
In the 2014-2015 school year, less than 60 percent of public high school students took the SAT and approximately 38 percent took the PSAT. Experts predict that by 2020, 71 percent of jobs in Rhode Island will require some form of post-secondary education. Today, only about 44 percent of Rhode Islanders have a post-secondary degree or credential, the administration said in a press release.
Raimondo met Monday with students at Smithfield High School to preview this as one of her Jobs Plan priorities. State Education Commissioner Ken Wagner and lawmakers joined her.
“This is about leveling the playing field and increasing access to opportunities to help Rhode Island’s kids succeed,” Raimondo said. “Providing these tests for free is about equity – this ensures that all students, regardless of economic circumstances, can use these tests to consider higher education opportunities.”
The increased access to testing could enable more students to be college and career ready, since the two tests set “an appropriately high standard and are good tools to help close our skills gap,” she added.
Previously, students paid up to $54 to take the SAT and $15 to take the PSAT and often had to take the test on a Saturday. Under Raimondo’s proposal, students will be able to take the test during the school day. Based on enrollment data, around 20,000 public high school students will benefit from this plan.
Students who take these exams tend to be engaged in thinking about education after high school, said Wagner.
“Providing our students with the opportunity to take this assessment at no cost will encourage more Rhode Islanders to recognize that they can pursue a pathway that could lead them to postsecondary education and to a challenging career,” he said.

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