The Kentucky Department of Education has officially transitioned from using the ACT as a college entrance exam to the SAT. The KDE announced the College Board will administer the SAT Junior State Administration as the state-funded college admissions exam beginning in spring 2026.
Robbie Fletcher, Commissioner of Education at the KDE, said this change is a good thing, as the SAT has benefits for all.
“The SAT is also an adaptive test. In other words, it is a multi-stage adaptive test in that students will take a packet of questions and depending on how they do, the next packet will be based on how well they did on the first packet. So, they could get a more difficult level or a less difficult level and then it eventually targets whatever that score is on the SAT,” said Fletcher.
Upon the transition, Fletcher said the KDE will ensure parents and students will not be left in the dark regarding this big decision.
“We have also put out information, hopefully you've seen it, on some of the benefits of SAT. There's a lot of family resources there, free resources. As a matter of fact, there's a partnership with Khan Academy that parents can look at for the SAT,” said Fletcher.
Additionally, Khan Academy will have free test preparation materials available for students, alongside other resources such as Bluebook and College Board’s testing platform. Officials said College Board provides educators with practical tools to strengthen student learning and readiness for the SAT. The guide emphasizes how teachers can integrate free official SAT practice on Khan Academy into daily instruction.
The SAT is also more flexible because schools have a six-week window in which the district can select the day they want to give the test. Additionally, switching to the SAT has the potential to save the Commonwealth up to 350-thousand dollars annually.
The KDE advised parents and students not to worry, as colleges across the state will still accept test scores from both the ACT and SAT. However, these exams more so determine scholarships available to students.