On February 20th and 21st, Arrowhead juniors took the ACT and the ACT WorkKeys. The ACT started at 7:30 and ended at 12:45. The Workkeys test also started at 7:30, but ended at 11:30.

According to the Princeton Review, “The ACT is an entrance exam used by most colleges and universities to make admissions decisions. It is a multiple-choice, pencil-and-paper test administered by ACT, Inc.”

The ACT test’s purpose is to measure how ready a high school student is for college. Colleges often use this information while going through student’s applications. The test is made up of four sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. The writing portion of the exam is normally optional, however, students were required to take it this week.

Test Prep Review says, “The ACT WorkKeys is a skills assessment test for those who are interested in or are currently working for employers that place an emphasis on the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), which is the credential achieved by those who successfully complete the exam.”

Lily Stemper, an Arrowhead junior, believes the ACT isn’t the best way to measure how ready a student is for college.

“It’s a five hour long test-ish. I feel like colleges can’t base you off of how you do on one five hour long test. I get that you can redo it, but still, your attention span is not the same and it doesn’t represent how you do in classes,” Stemper says.

Stemper says she didn’t have any system set up for preparing for the ACT.

Kendall Fullerton, another junior, agrees with Stemper in regards to the ACT not being the best way to determine how ready high school students are for college. She says many people, including herself, are not good test takers. Fullerton says while some students may get good grades, their ACT scores might not reflect their intelligence or college readiness.

Unlike Stemper, Fullerton decided to look into different ways to prepare for the ACT.

Fullerton says, “The first one I took, I didn’t do anything. And then I failed. So, the second one, I did prepare. But, I think I still failed.”

Arrowhead junior, Alli Hofkamp, says while the ACT shows speed reading, she doesn’t think it shows how students will solve problems in the real world.

Regarding ACT preparation, Hofkamp says she failed to follow through with her plans, but is going to try and prepare more for the next test.

Hofkamp says, “I promised myself I would, and then I kind of didn’t. So, my mom tutors people and she was like, alright, we’re going to do this once a week. And then, we did it twice. So, I’ll do it more next time.”

The ACT this week was not the final option for students. To view future test dates and ACT information, visit the ACT website.