A sophomore enters their assigned room, scans the area for any friends and takes their seat, wishing they were at home still asleep. Just next door, a junior anxiously waits for the proctor to start instruction, nervously tapping their feet and mind racing with all the possibilities and feelings that come with this infamous day.
Mar. 25. juniors and sophomores across the nation take on one of the most painstaking, but important, parts of their high school career: The ACT. Juniors have had the opportunity to take two practice ACT’s prior to the official exam, and sophomores take the pre-ACT a year before.
“I am looking forward to seeing how I perform on the pre-ACT,” sophomore Aurelia Grams said. “Hopefully I will do pretty good since I took some practice sessions.”
One of the main strategies for performing well on the ACT, stressed by ACT experts, is simply practice and repetition.
“It’s a beatable test,” said Math department head, Cory Clemenger. “If students can figure out the time aspect of it they will do well.”
Students are offered many ways to prepare themselves and exercise ACT testing skills months in advance. For $40 per class, ACT prep sessions are offered, in two levels of difficulty based on a student’s prior experience and familiarity with the test. Science, math and english sessions are individual, so if a student merely wants to raise their math score, they can just take that specific class.
“I feel like they were very beneficial,” Grams said. “Because I had no idea what the ACT even was or what kinds of questions there were and I learned so much from them.”
The resources available to prepare for the ACT are almost countless. Through the use of prep sessions and online resources, being prepared is something that can be accomplished.
With the current competitiveness of college admissions, having a decent score can bolster chances of acceptance exponentially. According to act.org, ACT scores in the 27-32 range are what top schools are looking for.
“I feel that taking the act does not affect you in high school much,” junior Jack Kastens said. “But your score can definitely impact the colleges you can get into as well as the scholarships you earn.”
The ACT is, for many students, the most important test of their lives. No matter the scale of seriousness of the test per circumstance or grade level of student, it is helpful to keep in mind that although the test is challenging, acing the ACT can be achieved.
