The Acceleration Placement Act (APA) took effect in most public school districts in Illinois at the start of the 2024-25 school year. This legislation aims to provide students with access to more challenging coursework, placing them in advanced classes such as honors or Advanced Placement (AP) based on their state test scores.
The goal of the APA is to ensure that more students, especially those who may not see themselves as honors or AP students, have access to rigorous academic opportunities.
“The goal is to have more students and families be fully informed about course choices, and how rigorous courses can provide them different opportunities in terms of post-secondary options,” Assistant Principal Mary Howard said.
While the primary focus of the APA is advancing students academically, it could also impact their preparation for standardized tests. Illinois, which recently switched back to the ACT after using the SAT for several years, expects students placed in advanced coursework to be better equipped for such exams.
“The more challenging the curriculum and the level of assessments they’re engaging with, the better prepared they’ll be for standardized assessments, which may help in college admission,” Howard said.
At West Chicago Community High School, this change will likely result in increased enrollment in honors and AP courses, which Howard noted was already been happening in English classes at the end of the 2023-24 school year as schedules were finalized. However, she acknowledged that accelerated students may face challenges, including the need to develop important “soft skills” like self-advocacy and time management.
“The challenge is almost trifold,” Howard said. “Students will need to learn executive functioning, a commitment to deadlines, and how to self-advocate—skills that are even more necessary in an advanced placement or dual credit class.”
Although the APA opens doors for many students, the implementation comes with its difficulties. Schools must accommodate larger numbers of students in advanced classes, and students may need additional support. Howard emphasized the importance of resources such as after-school tutoring and Academic Support during den time, both of which will help students succeed in more demanding courses.
Looking ahead, the shift from the SAT to the ACT adds another layer of complexity to the educational landscape. Howard explained that while students have been taking the SAT for years, the return to the ACT will bring its own challenges.
“This is going to be a very significant shift,” she said.
West Chicago Community High School will continue preparing students by exposing them to test structures and available resources like Khan Academy.
Junior Maritza Lopez Santiago believes that the change may lead to a divide in student motivation.
“Half of the student body would feel motivated to try harder when it comes to state tests, and the other half wouldn’t care as much,” Lopez Santiago said.
However, it is too early to tell how these two changes will impact student success in the classroom and on standardized tests, and some of the onus may lie on the students themselves.
“There’s still really going to be an expectation for students to be able to engage in extra kinds of support that maybe they had not devoted time to [previously]. So I think it comes back to that self-advocacy piece as well,” Howard said.
