States have long used standardized tests to measure the progress and achievement of their students. Nine years ago, the state of Maine replaced the Maine Educational Assessment with the SAT as the state assessment for high schools. This year Maine is transitioning back to the MEA, albeit a very different one than we knew 10 years ago. Before looking ahead to the new MEA, however, let’s take a look back at the SAT.

Waterville Senior High School’s average scores over the nine years the SAT was used as the state high school assessment were the highest in reading, writing and science of the four local high schools, the others being Winslow, Lawrence and Messalonskee. Waterville tied for second in math.

Statewide, every student had the opportunity to take the SAT free of charge, which was an advantage for students seeking to explore college options but who would have struggled to pay for the test. Another advantage was that the SAT was administered on the weekend, so no class time was lost. Conversely, getting students to school on the weekend presented a new set of challenges.

Nationally, Maine was one of only a few states in which all students took the SAT, so the state’s average slipped in comparison to other states. States requiring full SAT participation have the lowest average scores because all high school students take the test, not just the most academically inclined and college-bound. Not surprisingly, the percentage of students taking the SAT in the states with the top 20 average scores is generally in the single digits. Maine traditionally had a high student participation rate even before the SAT became the state assessment, so the slip was not dramatic.

The SAT will continue to be administered as a college readiness exam, it just won’t continue to be Maine’s state assessment for high schools. This spring, the Maine Department of Education is offering all juniors the opportunity to take the SAT free of charge. The test will be given on April 15 during school hours. I find it interesting that the Education Department can offer the SAT during the week only after the test is no longer the state assessment, and after the department has held high schools accountable for student attendance on a Saturday for nine years.

The April 15 administration is the only one the Education Department will pay for, and the registration deadline is April 1. Interested students should contact their guidance counselors. Juniors who do not wish to take the SAT on April 15 can take the Accuplacer, another college readiness exam, at the state’s expense.

The new Maine Educational Assessment is officially called the MEA (Smarter Balanced).

Smarter Balanced is the consortium that developed the online assessment and is one of two major exams developed nationally to test student achievement of the Common Core State Standards. (The old MEA measured the Maine Learning Results.) Twenty-one states are signed up to use the Smarter Balanced assessment this spring.

The window to administer the Smarter Balanced math and English language arts assessments to all third-year high school students is March 16 through May 2. Officials at Waterville, Winslow, Lawrence and Messalonskee agreed to all test during the weeks of March 16 and March 23, to ease the impact of student absences on Mid-Maine Technical Center. Each test takes about four and a half hours to complete and is broken into three sections, so class time will be interrupted. An additional science augmentation exam will be given in May.

Some parents may be concerned about the class time their children will miss and may consider opting them out of the assessment so they can attend class instead. I would strongly discourage this for two reasons.

• There will be no classes to attend because teachers will be proctoring the assessment, and the vast majority of third-year students will be taking it.

• Any and all students not taking the assessment will count against our participation rate. If we fall below the participation benchmark set by the state, our high school will receive an F on its next state-issued report card, regardless of how well our students actually perform.

As with any aspect of high school life, please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.

Donald J. Reiter is the principal of Waterville Senior High School.