California Lawmaker Wants Free College Entrance Exams at School

Earlier this week, Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell introduced the Pathways to College Act, AB 1951, which would allow school districts to give students a college entrance exam like the SAT or ACT instead of the state-required test for 11th-graders. Districts would give the test during school hours, and they’d do it for free.

"Today we move California students forward," O'Donnell said at a press conference introducing his legislation on Tuesday. "Our effort is to ensure California school districts are empowered and have the tools they need to help our students succeed and move forward."

The SAT and ACT each cost about $60, including the writing portions. In California about half of students who take the tests use fee waivers.

Back in high school, UC Berkeley junior Angelica Rodriguez qualified for free testing. But she said cost wasn’t the only obstacle students faced.

"I would have to take them like 40 minutes away," she said of the tests, "so I had to wake up pretty early for it and it was really stressful having to drive there."

She said being able to take the test at school would have made a difference. Studies have found that universal access to college entrance exams boosts college attendance rates, especially for low-income students.

More and more districts in California are moving toward free in-school testing, including Oakland, San Jose and West Contra Costa.

This school year, over 16,000 California students from 33 schools will take the ACT at district expense. More than 30 districts will offer the SAT free.

But they have to give the entrance exams in addition to the state-approved 11th-grade exam.

The bill by O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) would require the state Department of Education to approve an entrance exam that districts could give students instead of the current state-required assessment. The test they pick would have to meet state and federal standards.

"The SAT is meaningful to students -- they have a stake in the results," O'Donnell said. "They don’t always feel that with the current tests they take."

He said his main goal is to reduce the number of exams students take and to increase access to college.