In another casualty of the Chicago teachers strike, the ACT exams that were scheduled to take place at multiple Chicago Public Schools locations on Saturday have been postponed — bad news for students planning to use those tests in their college applications.
Though the ACT is no longer a required test for Illinois high school students, it is accepted by many four-year colleges along with the SAT, which is administered by CPS during the school day. About 500 CPS students were planning to take the ACT this Saturday, CPS confirmed. But the cancellation could also affect non-CPS students who signed up to take the exam at CPS buildings, a district source said.
The ACT testing company has been notified that exams planned at six CPS schools on Saturday will not take place, said ACT spokeswoman Tarah DeSousa.
Affected students won’t be able to take the test at another location Saturday but will have another chance to test.
“We will provide another opportunity for the affected students to test, and they will be notified once we have confirmed another date,” she said in an email, deferring to CPS on further questions.
A CPS official said many of the proctors hired by ACT to oversee the tests are CPS teachers now on strike.
“What that jeopardizes for them is college applications, particularly early decision applications which are due Nov. 1,” the official said.
The district already rescheduled PSAT and SAT exams that had been set for Oct. 16, the day before the strike started, to Oct. 30 — but now there are concerns that those tests can’t be administered if the strike is still going.
In a Thursday morning news conference, CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade said, “We cannot go into next week. After next week, we will have students who will not be able to take the PSAT to qualify for National Merit scholarships.”
In response to a Tribune inquiry, Jaslee Carayol, a spokesperson for the College Board, which administers the SAT, wrote in an email: “We are monitoring the Chicago Teachers Union strike and have been working closely with educators to ensure that students will have testing opportunities.”
Keli Wildermuth, the parent of a high school sophomore, said missing the PSAT next week wouldn’t be a huge concern, because there’s still ample time to make it up.
“With our senior, when he took (the PSAT), it was so lovely to have him done. He had scores, he knew where he stood, he was able to concentrate on junior year,” Wildermuth said. “Having it off your shoulders is what a lot of these kids won’t be able to feel.”
The family is more concerned about college application deadlines for him. He already took his tests but needs transcripts and letters of recommendation for the Nov. 1 early application deadline at several of the schools he’s interested in.
Initially, it seemed like the transcripts might be held hostage to the strike, but Wildermuth said later the principal at her son’s school, Walter Payton College Prep, sent an email to parents saying non-union administrators would take care of transcripts for early application deadlines.
In an email to Lake View High School families, Principal P.J. Karafiol addressed similar concerns among Lake View students.
“With uncertainty regarding when the work stoppage will end, I imagine that many of our seniors may be concerned about completing their college applications, particularly for the early action/early decision deadlines,” Karafiol wrote.
Some counselors and teachers submitted letters of recommendation before the strike started, according to the email. But for students waiting on materials to submit their applications, the letter sought to assure students that even under “ordinary circumstances,” colleges usually don’t hold it against students if schools submit materials a few days late.
“Most colleges look first at student-submitted materials: student profile and family information, extracurricular activities and responsibilities, athletics, awards and honors, and essays,” according to the letter. “Recommendations and transcripts often play a secondary role in completing the picture of each student as an individual.”
This year, Karafiol continued, “I think it is safe to assume that college admissions officers are aware of our students’ circumstances, as the strike has made national news.” He suggested that students contact college admissions offices directly with specific concerns.
In the meantime, assistant principals and the school’s former college and career coach can help students get transcripts, he said.
Karafiol included a list of steps he said he’d “encouraged my own son,” a senior in CPS, to take as the strike goes on, such as spending extra time on applications and staying in touch with colleges of interest and asking for flexibility about deadlines in light of the strike.
In addition to testing concerns, Wildermuth said a college fair was canceled last weekend at Whitney Young, where her sophomore goes.
“When you think of the impact on some of these kids, that that was going to be their one chance to meet these schools, it’s hurting some kids beyond what I’m feeling,” she said.
Gil Gibori, who co-founded The House tutoring lounge in Chicago, said they’ve been trying to help students navigate their options.
“Imagine a teenager this week, a lot of them are preparing for the test, especially for seniors right now, the October test tends to be taking their last shot,” Gibori said. “It’s a lot of stress, and to add to it, students are losing mentorship time.”
Though some private school families are still worried, so far it appears ACT testing at non-CPS locations is still on for Saturday.
Two days away, Alan Wilks is hoping his son, Don, who attends a private school, can go through with the ACT he’s scheduled to take this Saturday at Chicago Hope Academy, which is not part of CPS. He needs the score before college and scholarship application deadlines, Wilks said. He said his wife called Hope on Thursday and was told the test is still on.
“It’s his first shot, and he’s trying to meet that deadline,” Wilks said.
Chicago Tribune reporter Paige Fry contributed.
hleone@chicagotribune.com
