Overview
Section 59-18-325 of the Education Accountability Act mandates that all students in the eleventh grade for the first time “must be offered a college entrance assessment that is from a provider secured by the department…” The college entrance exams selected for this purpose are the SAT®, the ACT®, and the CLT®. For selecting students for this administration, grade eleven students are defined as students in their third year of high school after their initial enrollment in the ninth grade.
The choice of which assessment to take must be determined at the student level, however, students are not required to take the SAT, the ACT, or the CLT exams. Districts should send a letter and accompanying form to each parent or guardian of an eleventh-grade student with information that their child may take the SAT, the ACT, or the CLT during a school day or optionally, not take either exam. The exams are offered at no cost to the parents. The accompanying form requests for parents to indicate which test the student will take or whether the student will not participate in the administration of the college entrance exams. The SCDE has prepared a form that districts may use for this purpose, or districts may develop and provide their own form. The completed forms must be retained for two years by the district in the event that the district is audited.
Purpose
Legislation states the purposes of the college and career ready assessments are:
- Assist students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors in developing individual graduation plans and in selecting courses aligned with each student’s future ambitions;
- Promote South Carolina’s Work Ready Communities initiative; and,
- Meet federal and state accountability requirements.
This law indicates that students may use the results of these assessments to apply to college or to enter careers. The results must be added as part of each student’s permanent record and maintained at the SCDE for at least ten years.
Accommodations
Section 59-18-325 of the EAA specifies the following:
A student with a disability, whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) team determines, and agrees in writing, that taking either of these assessments would not be aligned with the student’s program of study and the student should not be administered either assessment, must not be administered either assessment.
For additional information on accommodations provided for students with disabilities (IEP or 504 Plans) and English Language Learners, please visit the following websites: Taking the SAT with Accommodations, ACT Test Accommodations and English Learner Supports, and CLT Accommodations Information for School Administrators*.
* CLT Accommodations Request Forms must be submitted at least 4 weeks before your desired test date.
About the Tests
The SAT and the ACT are timed, multiple-choice examinations which measure a high school student’s readiness for college and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants. For additional information about the SAT, please visit the College Board website. For additional information about the ACT, please visit the ACT website.
The Classic Learning Test (CLT) is a standardized assessment designed for college admissions. It evaluates verbal reasoning, grammar/writing, and quantitative reasoning, using passages from classic texts. For additional information about the CLT, please visit the CLT website.
Subjects Tested on the SAT
The digital SAT is composed of two sections: Reading and Writing and Math. Students have 64 minutes to complete the Reading and Writing section and 70 minutes to complete the Math section for a total of 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Each section is divided into 2 equal length modules, and there is a 10-minute break between the Reading and Writing section and the Math section. The first module of each section contains a broad mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. Based on how students perform on the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult.
Most of the questions are multiple choice, though some of the math questions ask you to enter the answer rather than select it.
On all questions, there's no penalty for guessing: if you're not sure of the answer, it's better to guess than leave the response blank.
Subjects Tested on the ACT
The ACT contains multiple-choice tests in four areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. ACT’s writing test is optional and will not affect the composite scores. South Carolina students taking the ACT School Day test are not offered the writing component. Due to changes made to the test, the 2026-2027 administration will be somewhat shorter with fewer test items. There are 44 fewer questions and students get more time per question. The ACT is 2 hours and 45 minutes long
The ACT is offered online and on paper; districts may choose the format. The SAT has transitioned to an online only format going forward.
Subjects Tested on the CLT
The CLT consists of 120 multiple-choice questions assessing core subject areas of English/language arts and mathematics. The assessment includes three, 40-question sections: Verbal Reasoning, Grammar/Writing, Quantitative Reasoning. The Verbal Reasoning section is allotted 40 minutes, the Grammar/Writing section is allotted 35 minutes, and the Quantitative Reasoning Section is allotted 45 minutes. Students also have the opportunity to complete an optional, unscored essay that may be submitted to CLT partner colleges as an additional admissions essay.
The CLT is offered online or on paper at school.
SAT Test Dates
The College Board has established the following school-day (SATSD) test windows for the 2026-2027 school year.
Fall 2026 SAT Administrations
SAT Test Window: October 1, 2026 - October 30, 2026
Spring 2027 SAT Administrations
SAT Test Window: March 1, 2027 - April 30, 2027
ACT Test Dates
Districts may select an initial testing date, a make-up date, and an emergency date from the options given below. Districts do not have to choose a make-up date and/or emergency date.
ACT Fall 2026 Paper and Online Test Dates
| Paper Test Dates |
Online Test Dates including Accommodations |
Accommodation Test Dates for Paper |
| September 29, 2026 |
September 29-30, 2026
October 1-2 & 5-9, 2026 |
September 29-30, 2026
October 1-2 & 5-9, 2026 |
| October 13, 2026 |
October 13-16, 2026
October 19-23, 2026 |
October 13-16, 2026
October 19-23, 2026 |
| October 27, 2026 |
October 27-30, 2026
November 2-6, 2026 |
October 27-30, 2026
November 2-6, 2026 |
ACT Spring 2027 Paper and Online Test Dates
| Paper Test Dates |
Online Test Dates including Accommodations |
Accommodation Test Dates for Paper |
| February 23, 2027 |
February 23-26, 2027
March 1-5, 2027 |
February 23-26, 2027
March 1-5, 2027 |
| March 9, 2027 |
March 9-12, 2027
March 15-19, 2027 |
March 9-12, 2027
March 15-19, 2027 |
| March 23, 2027 |
March 23-26, 2027
March 29-31 & April 1-2, 2027 |
March 23-26, 2027
March 29-30 & April 1-2, 2027 |
Fall and spring administrations are completely separate; ACT will provide separate score reports, data files, and key dates.
CLT Test Dates
CLT Fall 2026 Paper and Online Test Dates
| Test |
Dates |
| Paper Test Dates |
October 28, 2026 |
| Online In-School Test Dates |
October 28-29, November 14 (Saturday), December 8 |
CLT Spring 2027 Paper and Online Test Dates
| Test |
Dates |
| Paper Test Dates |
February 18, April 6 |
| Online In-School Test Dates |
January 23 (Saturday), February 18, March 11, April 6-7, May 22 (Saturday), June 17 |
Payment
For the 2026-2027 school year, the SCDE will pay the testing vendor directly for one exam for the school-day administration of either the SAT, the SAT, or the CLT for each student in grade 11. SCDE will pay for grade 12 students if funds are available.
