Jim Banks (R-IN)
Service Academy Testing Enhancement Act of 2026
A Republican bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
S. 5597 is known as the Service Academy Testing Enhancement Act of 2026. The bill was introduced in the Senate on September 29, 2026, by Mr. Banks. It aims to promote the use of standardized testing at military service academies and Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools. The text requires the Secretary of Defense to ensure that military service academies allow testing requirements to be met using scores from at least three nationally recognized college readiness assessments. These assessments must measure mathematics, reading, grammar and writing, and analytical reasoning skills. Additionally, the bill directs the Director of the Department of Defense Education Activity to ensure that eleventh-grade students are offered the opportunity to take at least three of these standardized assessments.
Yes· 3 of 5
- Scored +4
Would people in their twenties and thirties be better off under this?
High school students and young adult applicants benefit from increased access to standardized tests and broader test acceptance at service academies.
- Scored +4
Would students be better off under this?
Eleventh-grade students in DoDEA schools are provided direct opportunities to take multiple college readiness assessments.
- Scored +3
Does this make it easier to use public money at a school other than the local one?
The bill broadens the testing options accepted by military service academies, giving applicants more flexibility in how they satisfy admissions criteria.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Section 2(a): Military service academies must ensure that any standardized testing requirement can be satisfied by scores from at least three nationally recognized standardized assessments that evaluate college readiness. This could benefit applicants by giving them more choices in which tests to take.
-
Section 2(b): Eleventh-grade students enrolled in DoDEA schools must be offered the opportunity to take not fewer than three qualifying standardized assessments. This is a positive outcome because it provides students with direct access to multiple college readiness tests through their schools.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- The provided text does not contain any specific sections or provisions that outline negative consequences or burdens for individuals or groups of people in the United States.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would students be better off under this? — Eleventh-grade students in DoDEA schools are provided direct opportunities to take multiple college readiness assessments. Would people in their twenties and thirties be better off under this? — High school students and young adult applicants benefit from increased access to standardized tests and broader test acceptance at service academies.
- Education And Technology
- Does this make it easier to use public money at a school other than the local one? — The bill broadens the testing options accepted by military service academies, giving applicants more flexibility in how they satisfy admissions criteria. Does this put more money into public schools? — The bill requires DoDEA schools to offer students the opportunity to take multiple nationally recognized standardized assessments.
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Does this increase the pay, pensions or support veterans receive? — The bill enhances testing and college readiness opportunities related to military service academies and Department of Defense education programs.
- 9/29/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.