AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine’s decision to adopt the SAT as a replacement for its academic performance assessment for 11th graders is expected to gain federal approval, state education officials say.

State Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said approval of the change is expected before the end of the school year.

The state pressed its case after the U.S. Education Department this summer rejected Maine’s student testing system under the No Child Left Behind Act and fined the state nearly $114,000.

The switch last spring from the Maine Educational Assessment to the SAT was intended to motivate high school juniors to consider going on to college after graduation.

“They are happy with our explanation, they are happy with our plans,” department spokesman David Connerty-Marin said Friday. “Unless something unsuspected goes wrong, we’re going to be approved by the end of the year.”

At issue were federal concerns about whether the mathematics component of the SAT was strong enough to test whether students were meeting the state’s standards.

Gendron said the state provided evidence that its requirements will be met by adding math questions to the SAT.