This year, Kentucky state officials have decided to switch to the SAT, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, for high school juniors as their college entrance exams. The state of Kentucky has been partnered with the ACT for nearly two decades. However, the state department of education recently announced that they allowed their contract with the ACT to expire and have signed a brand new contract with the SAT.

The SAT is administered digitally, which comes with many perks. This allows for schools to select their testing date within a four week window according to what works best for them individually. Additionally, the test is through College Board, a platform that students enrolled in AP classes are already familiar with, allowing for the entire process to run smoother and quicker.

Although the ACT and SAT share several similarities, the SAT is entirely set apart in various ways. While the ACT runs for three hours, the SAT lasts for just over two hours. With the shorter time, students should be able to perform better as they won’t be required to stare at a screen for such an extensive amount of time.

Furthermore, the SAT does not include a designated science section. Science questions are mixed in randomly to other subjects on the exam. Also, the reading passages are generally said to be shorter than those on the ACT, which is good news for those who aren’t partial to reading.

While many Kentucky universities and colleges such as Morehead State University, Berea College, and the University of Kentucky remain test-optional for admission, at least for the 2026-2027 academic year, students can potentially gain an advantage when applying to colleges if they have a valid test score to submit alongside their application.

As to be expected with the announcement of any significant change, this transition has been protested by many. The final details as well as the release of the official contract to the public has been momentarily placed on hold due to the ongoing protest. It remains unclear as to when the contract will go into effect in the state of Kentucky as the contract with College Board is still under review by the department.

Both the ACT and SAT offer various benefits to students and schools. While some may prefer one over the other, the shift to the SAT will be an overall good change for the students of Kentucky.