All Missouri high school juniors will soon have an entrance exam score to show colleges. Today, Missouri 11th-grade students are participating in one free administration of the ACT exam during school hours.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our Missouri high school students,” said Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven. “An ACT score is a way to help students, their families and our schools determine if our students are graduating ready for college and careers."

The free exam is a savings for Missouri families. The state has set aside $3.8 million to administer the test. Each administration of the exam costs $49 and about 65,000 public school juniors are expected to take today’s ACT. Last year, about 50,000 total students in Missouri took the exam at their own expense and on their own time. Home school and private school students are also taking the test today for free.

The ACT is a national college entrance exam that tests students in English, math, reading and science. The test is one measure colleges and universities use when deciding admittance and scholarships.

Ensuring that all Missouri students graduate ready for college and careers is a goal of the state’s Top 10 by 20 initiative, which calls for Missouri to be one of the top 10 states for education by 2020.