The Force of the ACT

According to act.org, Tuesday, March 1st, was the statewide official ACT testing day for all Wisconsin high school juniors. This was the second year that the ACT has been state mandated in Wisconsin.

According to gocollege.com, the ACT is a college readiness exam that shows how ready a student is to begin college. College’s and universities can base admission decisions on the ACT score of knowledge as well as the ability to think and reason logically. Mathematics, science, English, reading, and writing are the subject areas tested on the ACT. The writing portion of the test is optional–Arrowhead students were required to take the writing on March 1st. The test contains 215 multiple choice questions. The exam is timed. Two breaks are allowed during the process.

Thirty six is the highest composite score to achieve on the ACT. Points aren’t deducted for wrong answers; instead, they’re just not rewarded for wrong answers. Taking the ACT can help get into college, as well as help students to identify which subject areas need to be improved upon and the direction of a possible career path to go in.

Diya Ramanathan, a senior at Arrowhead said, “I took the ACT last summer and I got a 35. I was so bummed because I was just one point away from getting a perfect score. I spent hours studying, so I’m glad I did as good as I did. I hope it can get me into the Brown Medical program.”

According to arrowheadschools.org, on Tuesday, March 1st and Wednesday, March 2nd, the Arrowhead senior class did not have any classes because of the ACT testing at North Campus. The freshman and sophomore classes were required to come to school–the majority of their classes were at South Campus.

The Arrowhead director of learning, Sue Casseta, sent an email out to all students, with some suggestions for how seniors could use to pass time. Examples were to volunteer for a local organization, read a book for pleasure, research and complete scholarship opportunities, get caught up with homework, work ahead on a school project or paper, visit college options, or experience a job shadow.

Arrowhead senior Taylor Stoll said, “Next week I am going to visit University of Wisconsin Madison, which is where I would like to go to college next year. It is really nice that I will have two days to go on tours because of the ACT testing and really get a feel for the campus.”

Richa Karmakar, a junior at Arrowhead said, “I wish I didn’t have to take the ACT. Having two days off of school would have been really nice, but I know doing good on the ACT will help me get into the college I want to. At least we didn’t have full days and we got to leave school a little earlier than a normal school day.”