Section 20

(105 ILCS 302/20) Sec. 20. Duties of the State Board. (a) In order to fulfill the purposes of this Act, the State Board of Education shall encourage school districts to offer rigorous courses in grades 6 through 11 that prepare students for the demands of Advanced Placement course work. The State Board of Education shall also encourage school districts to make it a goal that all 10th graders take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholars Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) so that test results will provide each high school with a database of student assessment data that school counselors and teachers will be able to use to identify students who are prepared or who need additional work to be prepared to enroll and be successful in Advanced Placement courses, using a research-based Advanced Placement identification program provided by the College Board. (b) The State Board of Education shall do all of the following: (1) Seek federal funding through the Advanced Placement Incentive Program and the