by Harper Spaulding
The Paducah Sun
January 10, 2026
Used with permission.
With college placement testing only a few months away, Paducah educators shared their thoughts on Kentucky’s switch to SAT testing.
Last September, the Kentucky Board of Education announced it awarded a contract to the College Board to administer the SAT in Kentucky high schools. This test will replace the ACT, which has been Kentucky’s required college admissions test since 2006. Paducah Tilghman High School Assistant Principal Ashley Adkins said the switch has not been easy for Paducah’s educators and administrators.
“I will say that at least for me, I can’t speak to everyone, but for me, it was pretty unexpected,” Adkins said. “I’ve been in education at the high school level for over 20 years, and we’ve always been ACT. I was a high school student in Kentucky, the emphasis was always the ACT, even as a high school student.”
After two years of preparing students for the ACT, Adkins said the sudden switch to the SAT has instilled a sense of urgency for Tilghman teachers and staff to prepare students. While Adkins said the skills and subjects covered by both tests are similar, the question formats and test structures teachers have been preparing students for are different.
Among the differences between the two tests is the structure of their reading, writing and math portions. While the ACT had three distinct sections for each, the SAT combines reading and writing into one section divided into two parts. Instead of having page-long reading passages accompanied by multiple questions, the SAT breaks reading down into smaller paragraphs with one question each. For math, Adkins said the SAT differs from the multiple-choice structure of the ACT by having students find and write out the answers for certain questions themselves.
As for the science portion, which was recently made optional for ACT testing, the SAT removes it completely. Instead, Adkins said, science skills and questions are embedded in the other parts of the test. For instance, students will be required to interpret graphs and charts as part of the reading portion and complete math questions on science-based topics.
Overall, Adkins said the SAT is more analytical than the ACT and comes with fewer questions. Along with the structure changes, Adkins said teachers are also trying to familiarize themselves with the new scoring system for the new test, which has a max score of 1600 instead of the ACT’s 36. The different scoring system affects scholarship requirements or minimums for certain education programs, such as nursing.
The silver lining of the new system, Adkins said, is that the SAT is more transparent with its training resources for students. Sites like Khan Academy and Blue Book, where students access and take the exam, provide training and practice tests for students leading up to the test in March. With these resources, Adkins said she hopes student scores won’t be negatively affected by the switch.
“I’m always worried when there’s a chance that scores could go backwards,” Adkins said “However, I’m hopeful, because this forced us to be very intentional with the way that we were going to move forward. That additional preparation and those additional resources that we were able to find and utilize will help kids continue to grow and continue to move forward.”
Though the SAT is set to become the standard for student testing in Kentucky, the ACT is not completely unavailable for students looking to get their college placement scores. Kelly Walden, founder of ACT Prep Western Kentucky, said many of her clients are still focused on ACT prep.
“I haven’t had a single person specifically ask for SAT prep yet. Until this semester, everyone is still focused on the ACT,” Walden said. “In March, every school in Kentucky will give the juniors the SAT, but the periodic tests that come, like, about every two months that are on Saturdays around here so far, still almost 100% ACT.”
Walden said she projects an increase in SAT testing in the future, though she can’t say to what degree. Historically, Walden said she has suggested students try both tests to see which one better accommodates them. For instance, slower readers might benefit more from the SAT, as it gives more time for reading.
One of Walden’s biggest concerns, she said, is that the test is entirely digital. Walden said that introduces more room for error and requires students to familiarize themselves with the website. Walden’s advice to students taking the SAT for the first time is to go ahead and practice with the site.
“Every transitional year is tough, but this one might be a little tougher than usual,” Walden said “My advice would be: be ready to take the test. Listen to what the teachers are telling you, follow the directions, get that book downloaded and get in there and play with it and know how it works.”
Walden also suggested students not give up on the ACT completely, and ACT tests are still available to students who think they may fare better than with the SAT.