Senate advances plan to replace SAGE with ACT and create single student-accountability system

Senate Republicans voted to advance the first substitute of Senate Bill 20, which would replace SAGE testing in high school with the ACT for grades 9–11 and create a single, multi-indicator accountability system focused on student-level outcomes.

Sponsor Senator Milner said the change aims to make high-school assessment more meaningful for students and to let parents, teachers and students see growth, proficiency and postsecondary-readiness indicators in one dashboard. "We would move from SAGE to ACT in high school, which means ninth, tenth and eleventh grade assessment," Milner said, adding the bill asks the State Board of Education to run a criterion-referenced standard-setting process and report back to the education interim committee in October.

The bill preserves an overall school rating while shifting to multiple indicators — including proficiency, growth measures, graduation rates and an ACT score threshold Milner said aligns with Utah institutions' minimum admission standards. Milner said the fiscal note matches the funding request submitted by the State Board, which prioritized resources to administer ACT-based assessments.

Several senators questioned whether local districts and superintendents had been consulted and whether the change would entrench national standards. "How much buy-in or input have we had from the locals?" one senator asked; Milner said state board staff and local assessment coordinators have been involved through multiple iterations. Another senator expressed concern that replacing SAGE with ACT could make it harder to opt out and asked about unintended curricular effects; Milner said the bill aligns with Utah standards and asked the State Board to design the grading cutoffs by criterion rather than by a moving normative target.

Supporters said the move would provide clearer targets for student growth and better information for parents, while critics urged caution and suggested waiting for more implementation data or refining substitute language. After floor debate, the first substitute was advanced to third reading on a roll-call (first substitute recorded as receiving 19 yes, 4 no, 6 absent).

The bill requires further work by the State Board and a report to the interim education committee; senators said additional substitute language expected before final passage may refine provisions such as standard-setting and stakeholder participation.