When Balqees Abdelbaset, junior, takes the district-wide ACT this April, she’ll be missing a section that was offered last year: writing.

The state of Missouri will no longer fund theannual ACT test for high school juniors due to budget cuts, but Rockwood will continue to support students and offer the ACT without the writing portion.

Although Abdelbaset said she is grateful Rockwood is offering free testing, she will be spending $62.50 to take an additional test with writing.

“The writing section specifically tells me what I need to work on and how much I need to prepare for college,” Abdelbaset said.

Missouri began offering free ACTs for high school juniors during the 2014-15 school year. The ACT Student Data Trends reports that the percentage of graduating seniors who took the test in Missouri rose from 76 percent in 2014 to 100 percent in 2016.

Sarah Potter, communications coordinator for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education(DESE), said the state testing gave Missouri a complete picture of state college readiness.

“DESE wanted to provide Missouri high school students with a useful assessment that measured their readiness for college and career,” Potter said.

Potter said that although they are disappointed that fewer students will have the opportunity to take the test, the ACT is not a state or federally required exam.

Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost said Rockwood is able to pay for this test through budget adjustments, primarily by excluding the Aspire assessment typically given at the seventh grade level. Rockwood also saves $30,000 by not including the writing portion, which costs an additional $16.50 to the standard ACT price of $46.00.

Dr. Knost said Rockwood is funding the testing because the state’s budget cuts could impact students with lower socioeconomic levels.

“With the state not funding the ACT, it becomes somewhat of an unfunded mandate because our ACT scores are considered to some degree in the state’s accreditation process,” Dr. Knost said.

Julie Rust, MHS testingcoordinator, said the ACT is used as a college entrance exam and it guides students toward their progress of being ready for college or careers.

“Offering the ACT to every junior student seems to align with the district’s goal of preparing students for life after high school,” Rust said.

If a student applies to a college that requires the ACT with writing, they will have additional opportunities to register for an ACT with writing test after the junior test takes place on April 3, 2018.

“The only population that may feel an impact are those students with the desire to take the ACT with writing,” Rust said.

Jhar Nae Thompson, senior, said she is glad that Rockwood is funding the ACT.

“It’s good that Rockwood still makes sure people have the chance to take the ACT for families that can’t afford it,” Thompson said.