Legislators press KLRD on ACT funding and participation after state began paying for tests

Task force members asked for details about the state's contract with ACT and how the decision to pay for state testing affected participation. Vice chair Erickson and others asked whether the contract is billed per actual test-taker or as a flat contract and whether the state's payment produced sustained increases in take-up.

KLRD reported that the state budgets $2,500,000 SGF for pre-ACT, ACT and WorkKeys assessments that pay for testing for 9th graders and juniors; if students take the ACT multiple times, repeat tests after the state-paid administration would be paid by the student. Members noted university admissions changes since 2021 (some state universities made ACT optional) likely reduced repeat-taking. One lawmaker observed that where the state paid once, later participation did not sustain the initial spike and asked KLRD to provide contract details and per-taker billing history.

The committee asked KLRD to supply a follow-up note on the ACT contract terms and recent trends in participation by district and subgroup so lawmakers can evaluate whether the state-paid model is producing sustained benefits.