The ACT college readiness exam no longer will be offered for free automatically to Missouri high-school juniors.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens recently signed a $4 million cut to education-evaluation funding, which made the free ACT program possible.
Ed Colby, ACT spokesman, said while Missouri’s state program, which began in 2015, is ending, other options are available.
Individual districts can sign up, Colby said, although the district would need to have the budget for that.
“Students can register and take the ACT on their own,” Colby said, and fee vouchers are available for students from low-income families to take the ACT up to two times.
“One of the nice things about the statewide program is all students get to take it,” Colby said. “It helps increase access to college, particularly for students who might not have considered taking the ACT or going to college, who felt like they could not afford it.” Colby said the fee for the ACT is $46, or with the optional writing test, a total of $62.50.