Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced last week that all high school students will take a standardized college-entrance exam in place of the MEAP test.
Starting the spring of 2007, the ACT and WorkKeys, a work skills assessment, will be implemented for all high school students.
"The new testing puts all Michigan students on the path to college," Granholm's spokeswoman, Liz Boyd said. "Now by making the exam available to all students, at no cost, every student has opportunity to have admission to a university. They will take the test, and they will know if they have what is needed."
WorkKeys is a multiple-choice test that has been used since 1992, with at least 9 million tests being scored nationwide. Michigan will use the Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics and Locating Information WorkKeys assessments in its testing.
The new testing procedures for high school students comes as a result of a recommendation of the Cherry Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth. The Cherry Commission was organized by Granholm and led by Lt. Gov. John D. Cherry to develop ways to double the number of Michigan residents who obtain college degrees and other valuable credentials.
Replacing the MEAP with a nationally-recognized college-entrance exam checks one of the recommendations off the list of what the committee brainstormed. The complete new test is called the Michigan Merit Exam.
"Governor Granholm has a broader strategy that we are making sure we are preparing young people for a career in the 21st century," Boyd said.
Granholm isn't the first to replace state-based testing with national testing. Programs similar to Granholm's have been implemented in Illinois and Colorado.
Director of Admissions Pam Horne said she has heard success stories about requiring all students to take a college-entrance exam, increasing the access to college for students.
Horne said she believed the largest impact would be felt in urban and low-income schools.
"More students in Michigan are going to see themselves as college bound, where they might have not before," she said.
Having all students take the ACT will get them into "the pipeline for information" and aware of what preparatory courses for college they should take, Horne said.
Jennifer West, a counselor at Everett High School, is pleased that all students will now be able to take the ACT.
"It will de-mystify the ACT test, and more students will have exposure to the exam," said the chairwoman of the counseling department. "It really will give a level playing field, so everyone is on the same page with what is being tested."
Everett High School is in an urban school district, and anywhere between 10 percent to 30 percent of graduates go onto college, depending on the graduating class, West said.
With the former MEAP test, a merit award of $2,500 was awarded to those who did well on the test. According to Boyd, Granholm is still looking to include a merit award with these new tests, which will continue to financially assist with further education.
"In our district, many students really rely on that money to assist them in being able to pay for post-secondary education," West said. "It is crucial for our students. It is also an incentive. It is something that really motivates students to put forth 100 percent effort."
