Here are some thoughts on Private School ACT testing:

Single site for processes: Wondering if we could host a single page, perhaps on an EdPlus site, where
we could list each district's name, with each district name linking to the info about the stance on, or
process for, non-public students to register for the April ACT. For example, Parkway's link would go to
the page where I have all of the information about what parents need to do to register for ACT.
o

Shared communication: Like the rationale above, if we can get a single point of entry for our districts,
we could do a single communication with our non-public schools, rather than each district having to
gather all the contact info and communicating it out individually.
o

Rationale: Would save each of us lots of time, and would also reduce the risk of parents saying,
"I didn't know your process...how was I supposed to know?" If we have a single
communication, we could say, "your child's school received this information on X date. I'm
sorry that they did not communicate that with you."
Shared time-lines: It would probably be helpful to have some common (or at least recommended)
timelines. For example, last year both Rockwood and Parkway communicated and had a shared data
(it was March 1 last year) for families to register with us. That date is certainly movable, especially if
we can communicatet that earlier. Having that date in common helped us stand firm when a parent
called after the deadline requesting to register.
o

Rationale: Doing this could allow us to do a single communication to all non-public schools,
rather than each of us having to do this (and a non-public school having to collect information
from all area districts).
Rationale: It is challenging when a parent calls and says, "I could still register if I lived in 'X'
district, but you have a different date and that's not fair." If we could have shared-or recommended--dates by which students need to register, both for students who have
approved accommodations and those who do not, that might help quite a bit. This would also
help in combination with the idea of shared communication, because then our messages would
go out at the same time, so all parents would have the same opportunity to register.
Shared "limit" of number of students: Several districts are considering "capping" the number of nonpublic students they can take due to space and cost constraints, which is totally understandable. It
may be helpful if we considered at least a recommended cap. Since we have lots of districts with
different sizes, a percentage might be useful. So, for example, a district could say, "we can
accommodate 10% more students on the test date," then a district with 100 juniors could take 10
students, and a district with 1500 could take 150.
o
Rationale: Having a recommended number or percentage (maybe 5%, 10%, or something else)
would help with messaging, keep the number somewhat limited, and, like above, keep parents
from singling out a particular district for their practice.
With any of the above, a district could veer from these pieces, but then they would know what most districts
are doing. Perhaps that's why "recommended" timelines, seat limits, etc. might be good.
This is what my faulty memory gathered from the Face to Face group discussion on ACT STATE testing. Please
feel free to correct me where needed.
We will try to get a webpage on the EdPlus site, if not use the STARC site, to post links to our district websites
where parents can get the information needed. There might be some generic thigs each district would want
to collect- we probably need more discussion on this at SLACCA:
a) Copy of photo id (so you don’t have a plant taking the test- a stand-in).
b) Copy of transcript showing student attendance at the private school and confirmation he/she is a
Junior in good standing
c) Proof of residency- gas/electric/water bill for the home.
Due to the diversity of the group- coming to consensus on everything wasn’t possible.
1) Due to staffing and space we can’t do a % of district, 10% at St. Louis would be 150-200 tested
students- we don’t have the staff or space. At another district that would only be about 10-30
students.
2) Most said they don’t have the extract staff to handle accommodated students, and the deadline for
requests is January.
3) The group did seem to think that one deadline for registration for all would be possible, the same
timeline that is used for the Saturday ACTs. The suggestion was March 1st, 2016 as the deadline to
register. 5 weeks out is the normal time frame.
4) Make-up day testing????? That will probably be a case by case situation.
STARC web-site,
I had one volunteer. The more the better, but I’ll take what help I get. I will try to set up a time with
Stephanie Madlinger to work on the STARC website. I’m more worried about content than anything else.
CDTs- those courageous school districts doing this right off the bat- let us know how it goes! We appreciate
your feedback and heads up.
ACT SAT Test Date Registration Deadline
(Late Fee Required)
September 12, 2015 August 7, 2015
August 8–21, 2015
October 24, 2015 September 18, 2015 September 19–October 2, 2015
December 12, 2015 November 6, 2015
November 7–20, 2015
February 6, 2016* January 8, 2016
January 9–15, 2016
April 9, 2016
March 4, 2016
March 5–18, 2016
June 11, 2016**
May 6, 2016
May 7–20, 2016