ACT cancellations upset students still hoping to earn Bright Futures

Students planning to take the ACT college admissions exam next month in hopes a high enough score would earn them a Bright Futures scholarship learned recently their testing sessions had been canceled at several schools because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The rival SAT had previously canceled its June test sessions, and the June 13 ACT was viewed as a last chance for 12th graders to secure a needed score under current rules for Florida’s Bright Futures college scholarship program.

But that option seemed to vanish for some Central Florida students when test sessions at high schools in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole, among more than 100 schools across Florida, were canceled.

Some schools in Central Florida, however, were still planning to have the ACT tests next month.

Michael Agranoff ’s son, a senior at Winter Park High School, had the grades and community service hours needed for Bright Futures, he said, and hoped on his next test session he’d boost his SAT score by 3%, or 40 points.

Then the SAT was canceled, so his son registered for the June session of the ACT and signed up for a prep class. This week, he learned the ACT session he signed up for was canceled, too.

“He has spent an hour a day preparing for this exam throughout the pandemic. All of this hard work may be for nothing and he is devastated,” Agranoff said in an email. “If the state doesn’t act, he loses the opportunity to be eligible for over $10,000 in scholarships that he has been working towards for years.”

The newest cancellations only added to the frustration of some parents, who were already appealing to the Florida Department of Education to alter the Bright Futures rules for the class of 2020.

The SAT is the more popular exam in Florida, but it canceled its May and June test dates and does not plan to resume until August, at the earliest. Because students lost testing chances this spring when much of the state shut down, parents want the state to extend the testing deadline to submit Bright Futures applications past June 30 or change the test-score requirements for this year’s seniors.

The department understands the concerns, a spokeswoman said in an email, and is looking for a solution.

“Our hope is to make an announcement of good news in the next few weeks,” wrote Cheryl Etters in an email last week.

Orange school officials canceled all ACT tests scheduled for June at their campuses.

A spokesman for Seminole schools said the test session at Lake Howell High School, where Agranoff’s son was to take the ACT, was canceled because of low enrollment, but the one at Lyman High School was still on, at least for now.

A spokeswoman for Osceola schools said St. Cloud High School was still offering the June 13 test session, though other county high schools had canceled.

Agranoff said his son was trying to contact the ACT about whether he could still take the test at another site but had not been successful.

The state expected more than 118,000 students would qualify for Bright Futures in the coming academic year and had budgeted nearly $652 million for Bright Futures awards.

Waiving or altering testing rules — test scores are usually the toughest Bright Futures requirement for students to meet — could make more students eligible, however, and boost costs. Paying for more scholarships could be a challenge this year, as state leaders expect they’ll need to cut Florida’s budget because the pandemic has damaged the economy and cut into state revenues.

To win the scholarship, high school seniors must meet grade-point average and community service requirements and post certain test scores, at least 1170 out of 1600 on the SAT or 26 out of 36 on the ACT.

The scholarship offers two awards, one that pays 75% of tuition at state colleges and universities and one that covers full tuition, plus a book stipend, but comes with requirements for higher grades and test scores. That scholarship requires at least 1290 on the SAT and 29 on the ACT.

The state’s 12 public universities in late April urged the state to waive the testscore requirement for students who would start college in 2021, if the scheduled August testing sessions could not go on as planned.

But the Board of Governors, which oversees the university system, said it hoped pushing back admissions deadlines would mean the state wouldn’t have to change its requirements. Students must submit ACT or SAT scores with their university applications.