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Thursday, February 4, 2016
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Perspective
SA needs to prep new trustee
Students need to stay active despite cold weather
Northern Star Editorial Board
Hanna Markezich | Northern Star
Point/Counterpoint:
Illinois will stop giving high school juniors the ACT and replace it with the SAT.
ACT not relevant today SAT skips key subjects Kara Mercer Columnist
The newly modified SAT will prove to be more beneficial to high school students applying for college. To have two standardized tests for high school juniors can be inconvenient. The new SAT is accepted by all U.S colleges, according to the College Board website . The College Board edited SAT questions so they can focus more on knowledge that research has identified as key to future success. The new SAT will include
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free, downloadable practice tests and a mobile app that instantly scores paper tests. These tools will help students prepare for a test that can be a bit overwhelming without any practice. Without a state budget, many schools had to bear the cost of offering the ACT to students for free. The proposal from the College Board to replace the ACT with the SAT was $1.37 million less than the ACT over three years. To retake the SAT would cost students $54.50 with the optional essay portion of the test, while the ACT costs $56.50. The SAT has improved its content and taking the SAT will prove to be in students’ best interest when applying for college.
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Kaylyn Zielinski Columnist
High schools in Illinois should not switch from offering the ACT to offering the SAT. Illinois plans to sign a contract that will administer the SAT instead of the ACT for high school juniors, according to a Dec. 21 Chicago Tribune article . Both the ACT and the SAT are accepted at every four-year college, but the ACT is a better choice for high school juniors based on how well it tests all their abilities.
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The ACT is a shorter test than the SAT. A shorter exam puts less stress on students already nervous about getting into the top colleges in the country. The ACT includes all core subjects that every high school student is required to take: reading, English, math and science, while the SAT does not include a science section. Both these tests are meant to show a student’s readiness for college. By not including all subjects, the SAT is not doing its job. The ACT lets students decide what scores they want to be sent to a college. The SAT sends all scores from the test taken whether good or bad. The ACT gives students a better chance at entering the college they want.
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The Student Association must prepare student trustee candidates as they wait for the Board of Trustees to adapt a policy for filling the student trustee vacancy. Raquel Chavez resigned from her position as student trustee to focus on her role as a law student, according to a Jan. 21 SA news release. If the student trustee position becomes vacant, the SA president must appoint a replacement with the SA Senate’s consent, according to the SA Constitution. The Board of Trustees does not have a formal procedure listed in their bylaws for the replacement of student trustees, said Ari Owens, SA director of Public Affairs. The Governance Ad Hoc Committee and Enrollment Ad Hoc Committee, both committees attended by Chavez in the fall, will meet today at noon and 2 p.m., respectively, without a student trustee. These committees discuss important issues like enrollment, which has seen a 2.5 percent decrease this semester. The Governance Ad Hoc Committee will propose the Board of Trustees adopt the SA’s procedure for filling student trustee vacancies, Owens said. The procedure would not be formally adopted until it is approved by the board at the next general meeting on March 17. In addition to the two committee meetings today, there will be no student representation at five committee meetings prior to the Board of Trustees general meeting. This means a student voice will not be heard as the trustees and administration discuss budget and enrollment issues, which impact students heavily as Illinois enters month eight of operating without a state budget. SA President Nathan Lupstein has begun the search for candidates for the student trustee position, Owens said. However, the SA cannot do more than search as they wait for the Board of Trustees to adopt a policy. As the Board of Trustees enters this process, the Editorial Board recommends the SA encourage student trustee candidates to attend the Board of Trustees meetings. Board of Trustees meetings are open to the public so these candidates are free to familiarize themselves with the issues.
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