Gov. Phil Bryant Applauds Committee Passage of Measure to Use ACT as High School Exit Exam

Press Release

Gov. Phil Bryant commends members of the House Education Committee, chaired by Rep. John Moore, for unanimously voting to pass House Bill 767 on to the full House for consideration. The measure, which Gov. Bryant announced in his 2014 State of the State Address, would establish a pilot program to study using the ACT as a high school exit exam in lieu of the current group of subject area tests the state is using.

The pilot would be funded at $1.5 million, which would cover program needs as well as the cost of administering the ACT to every high school junior in Mississippi in the upcoming school year. The state spends more than $4.8 million per year on its current group of subject area tests.

"The ACT is well-documented as a sound measure of college and career readiness," Gov. Phil Bryant said. "Utilizing it as a high school exit exam will not only allow us to obtain a more accurate measure of student achievement, it will benefit students by providing them with access to a test that has practical use in their lives as a college entrance exam."

The effort is supported by the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents.

"This is a common sense step for Mississippi schools, and we thank Gov. Bryant for his leadership on this issue," said Dr. Sam Bounds, executive director of the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents. "The ACT tests student achievement in an unbiased fashion and removes pressure to teach to the test as is sometimes the case with other assessments. We support this proposal and hope to see it enacted by the Legislature."

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