LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) – Could ACT testing become a thing of the past? Alabama Board of Education members are considering it. 

During last week’s work session, board member Jackie Zeigler says it’s been brought to her attention by school officials that the ACT isn’t reflective of their students’ knowledge. Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey agreed, saying he’s received complaints as well. 

Here in North Alabama, Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Shearouse said the results they receive from ACT testing help them to plan for the future.

“We do look at our ACT scores and make sure we’re making improvements,” said Shearouse. “We’ve talked about having classes for next year in the schedules so that we do help our students learn more about the ACT and become comfortable taking the ACT because colleges still look at those ACT scores.”

The superintendent added their school district recognizes those students who score 30 and above.

“I had a young man I talked to yesterday who actually had a 32, and he’s shooting for that 35. A perfect score is a 36, so if he gets the 35…that’d be awesome! We just want to motivate students to make sure they do well on the ACT,” added Shearouse. 

However, for students who aren’t interested in attending college, some teachers say the test isn’t useful for them to see the capabilities of their kids.

“The question is, what are students going to be required to take if they don’t take the ACT?” asked Shearouse. 

During last week’s Alabama BOE work session, Superintendent Eric Mackey told the board he plans to find out which states use which tests for high school testing and bring that information to a future board work session. 

Mackey says they would have to replace the ACT with another test because federal education law requires students to be tested once in high school in reading and math. He says developing a new test will take time and money.