Uintah School District is using them. Scoring is on a continuous grade — if you score 100, it doesn't matter what grade you're in, the school knows exactly what level you're on, district curriculum director Leonard Sullivan said. The district this year is gathering elementary kids of the same skill set for the last 45 minutes of the school day to teach them concepts on their level, so everyone is challenged, he said.

"One thing I do like about it is it's a pre- and post-test, so it gives us an absolute growth for the year," Sullivan said. But, he said, "I think there are some flies in the ointment as far as replacing" CRTs, for example, as No Child Left Behind requires students on each grade level all take the same tests. Adaptive tests by nature are all different.

Also, the ACT and its related exams for practice could be used in eighth grade and 10th grade, Harrington said. Then, all students could be required to take the ACT in 11th or 12th grade. A university placement test also could be taken in the second half of the senior year, she said.

Those ACT tests could cost about $1.8 million; the others, about $15 per student, or roughly $4 million if half of Utah students were tested, based on State Office of Education numbers.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, was curious as to whether the idea would blow up what U-PASS has attempted to build.

Harrington said she was "not suggesting we throw it all out."

Other legislators liked the idea.

"I'm very excited about this because I think we do test too much," said Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo. "If it's going to save us money, let's do it."

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