ACT For a Degree

The ACT is a big deal. First, it’s our state assessment to make sure that we are teaching you all the things you’re supposed to know before you graduate from high school. The state requires that all students take it, and they chart your growth from freshman year to junior year to show that you are learning things. Second, this is the college entrance exam. Students take this test in order to be admitted to universities and colleges. Third, if you get a good score, those colleges and universities can give you scholarship money. So it’s essential that you do well. Finally, this test proves that you are learning what you need to learn in order to be successful in your future. As a school and as a state, we use it to measure how much you have grown and how much you have learned. It is important for you and for us.- Michelle Frias, Assistant Principal.

Demon Dispatch went around the school and asked different Juniors and Seniors about how the ACT experience was for them and how they think they did.

Junior Zoie Brant- “I didn’t study for the ACT, I mainly just did the Workout Wednesdays and March Madness. I was definitely very stressed because the ACT is what the colleges mostly look at, so someone would want to do well on it.”

Senior Brooke Subers- “So I took the ACT  twice. The first time was at school, I didn’t study, but I did pretty well. I got a 26, which is good for your first time. Then I took it again during the summer. It cost some money, but it was nice. I took it at GCU, and I got to see their campus. I also didn’t study, but I got a 29. I wasn’t super stressed either time, more because usually the ACT scores don’t really matter unless you really need them to get into a large out-of-state school. But other than that, it was nice. I usually just wing all of my exams.”

Junior Alexis Roberts- “My ACT experience was pretty ok. It sucked that I wasn’t able to be there for the actual day of it and had to make it up two days later. Honestly, I feel like I did a pretty good job on the ACT, and I didn’t feel good while taking it. I felt tired because I ended up going to sleep during the test.”

Senior Ray Grass- “I was prepared for most of the sections of the ACT; however, I was not prepared for the ACT in my math class, as it was a senior-level class, college algebra, and there were not many juniors in my class. Despite this, I received a 29 on the math section, with an overall score of 28. While I was taking the ACT, I was very stressed, as I do not do well with standardized testing, and it causes me a great deal of anxiety, and I struggle to focus for long periods of time. 

Senior Jordan Masters- “For the most part, I felt prepared for the ACT. I scored a 28 as a student in non-AP and Honors classes, which I am very proud of. I felt comfortable in the testing environment, although that may have been because I was close to the teacher proctoring. I usually am quite antsy during testing, but once again, I felt comfortable during the ACT. Overall, I feel that the ACT was successful for me personally.”