ShareThisThe College Board -- maker of the SAT college entrance exam -- has announced a new standardized test it said it developed because of popular demand.The two-hour test, called ReadiStep, is for eighth-graders, and is aimed at helping educators see which skills students need to develop to be prepared for high school and college."It can help teachers change the course of a student's instruction so that more students realize their academic dreams," said Lee Jones, senior vice president of college readiness products at the College Board.In some ways, there would seem to be no shortage of standardized tests.Eighth-graders in many states already are already tested in math, reading, writing and science.And at various grade levels, students face state-mandated tests as well as ones chosen by their districts, including national achievement tests, and the SAT and ACT college entrance exams -- and the related PSAT/NMSQT -- that many high school students take.College Board officials say there's demand for ReadiStep, which it called the only test using the English Language Arts and Mathematics College Board Standards for College Success.Jones said the College Board contacted about 1,000 school and district personnel, more than half of whom indicated interest in ReadiStep."ReadiStep was created at the request of schools and districts that asked for an assessment that could be administered to students prior to high school," he said.Despite complaints across the nation about testing required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act and about the use of college admissions tests, some schools still are willing to take on optional tests.Since 1991, ACT -- which publishes the ACT college entrance exam -- has offered the EXPLORE test to eighth- and ninth-graders.Last school year, a record 980,000 students nationwide took that test, including students in eight states that offered it to all students.EXPLORE has four sections -- English, reading, math and science -- and an interest inventory, which provides feedback on possible careers. The two-hour test costs $7.50.ReadiStep also will be a two-hour test. It will have three 40-minute parts: critical reading, writing and mathematics, which also are the names of the three parts of the SAT.ReadiStep will assess the same skills as the PSAT/NMSQT and SAT at the eighth-grade level.The test will be offered for the first time next school year in a two-week window in October. It also will be offered in March. The price hasn't been set but is expected to be below $10 a test and to be paid by schools.ReadiStep grew out of a college readiness system, including curriculum and professional development, that the College Board has been developing over the past eight years, said College Board President Gaston Caperton.Bob Schaeffer, public education for FairTest, a critic of standardized testing, said he thinks the College Board is devising ReadiStep to compete with EXPLORE.He thinks more tests just contribute to an "arms race" of testing."We appreciate the dilemma faced by parents and educators," he said. "On the one hand, they are fed up with too much testing. On the other hand, they don't want to put their kids at a disadvantage."E-mail Eleanor Chute at echute(at)post-gazette.com.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
College Board rolls out test for eighth graders
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