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Vermillion schools to administer ACT during school day; district schedules remote learning and remedial tutoring
Summary
Administrators told the board the district will administer the ACT to juniors March 17 as South Dakota’s required high‑school assessment, will ask freshmen, sophomores and seniors to take a remote learning day, and will offer a 2.5‑hour remedial tutoring window for students with D or F grades.
District administrators briefed the board March 9 on preparations for statewide assessments and related student supports, including the ACT administration for juniors on March 17 and plans for school‑day logistics.
Mr. Elvey summarized the testing timeline: Smarter Balanced assessments for grades 3–8 will be administered in April and the ACT — South Dakota’s first year using that exam as a statewide high‑school assessment — will be given to juniors on March 17. "State assessment will be the ACT, the national exam that most of our juniors and seniors take," Elvey said.
To provide a secure testing environment the district will designate the high school academic wing as a controlled testing area; Elvey described the required conditions: "You can't bring water or treats in. You're in a place that has no activity in a building," and said the district will provide breakfast and lunch. Non‑testing grades will be asked to complete remote learning assignments that use previously taught material rather than new instruction.
Elvey also said the commons area at the high school will be used for remedial tutoring for freshmen, sophomores and seniors who are earning D or F grades. "Those folks would be required to come to a remedial tutoring period for 2 and a half hours," he said, adding that students who complete the assigned work may leave early. The district said assignments for other students would be delivered through Google Classroom.
The Vermillion Public Schools Foundation will help fund breakfast burritos for testing day, splitting the cost with a local food‑assistance partner; the foundation also reported support for Educators Rising students who qualified for state competition. Trustees approved routine financial items and acknowledged an FY25 audit report included in the board packet.
The board moved into executive session later in the meeting under South Dakota Codified Law 1-25-2-4; no action on testing logistics was taken at that time and administrators said they would provide additional details as needed.
