Free ACT retakes will be offered to all high school seniors this fall

The Tennessee Department of Education is making it easier for high school seniors to retake the ACT this year.

Every public school senior will be eligible for one free retake, and the test will be offered at every high school during the regular school day.

Previously, only those who took the test as juniors were eligible for the free retake their senior year. While that was most students, the state removed that as a requirement for this fall.

Students also had to sign up to take the test again and then find their way to a testing center on a Saturday.

“We heard anecdotally from schools that both the locations of the Saturday testing centers and transportation were issues for many students,” education department spokeswoman Sara Gast said in an email. “Particularly in rural settings, some students may have had to travel pretty far to get to a testing center

to take the assessment.”

The goal of the retake program, which could cost up to $2.5 million if every student took the test again, is to improve students’ scores enough that they qualify for more scholarship money and can avoid mandatory remedial classes in college.

About 26,000 of the 70,000 seniors in the state took the test a second time for free last year, the first year of the offering. Nearly 40 percent increased their scores, and an additional 1,300 students earned above a 21 on the retake, making them eligible for the state’s HOPE scholarship.

Last year, more than half of Tennessee community college students required remedial courses.

“We feel like it’s a good opportunity, and data shows you will likely get a higher score if you take it a second time,” Gast said.

Students will still only need to take the test once to graduate.

School districts will have the option of offering the test on Oct. 3 or 17, or both.

Shelby County Schools Director of Assessment and Accountability Brant Riedel said in an email the district is grateful for the expanded opportunities for students to retake the test.

“Teachers, students, and parents have worked hard to improve college readiness, and the more opportunities students have to take the exam, the more opportunities they have to show progress and hopefully continue their education,” Riedel said.

“Many of our students have limited access to retake opportunities given financial and transportation constraints, and the fact that the state will make this available during the school day at no cost to families is of great benefit to our community.”

Contact Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.