South Dakota will guarantee students automatic admission to state colleges and universities based on their scores on the Smarter Balanced assessment.
The new policy marks the first time a state higher education system has decided to use the scores from the Smarter Balanced exam, which is linked to the Common Core State Standards, to grant students automatic acceptance if they reach a qualifying score.
In South Dakota, 11th grade students who score at Level 3 or 4 in English and math on the four-level test, or earn an ACT composite score of 18, are guaranteed “general acceptance” to the state’s six public universities and four technical institutes. General acceptance means that students might have to meet additional requirements to pursue specific majors.
