ASPIRE testing done at South (April 12-15th)
From April 12th to 15th, 2021, 9th and 10th grade Arrowhead High School students took the ACT Aspire 9.
The ACT Aspire is separate from the ACT. According to an article by Varsity Tutors titled “Can the ACT Aspire Predict Your ACT Score?”, “The actual ACT consists of all multiple-choice questions (with the exception of the optional writing portion), but the ACT Aspire consists of multiple-choice and constructed response (short-answer and long-answer) questions.”
The Arrowhead website’s “ACT Assessment” page explains that the ACT is America’s most widely accepted college entrance exam, and also that it assesses general educational development of high school students along with their ability to complete college-level work. This test covers English, mathematics, reading, science, and a writing test.
For grade 10, students with last names beginning with A through K took the ACT Aspire 9 on April 12th, while students with last names beginning with letters L through Z took the ACT on April 13th. Some of these students had tested at North Campus. Student testing locations were posted outside the counseling office, study hall, and main office the week prior to testing.
These students took the reading test at 7:50 a.m., the writing test at 9:10 a.m., the science test at 10:05 a.m., the math test at 12:05 p.m., and finally the English test at 1:35 p.m.. The length of these tests ranged from forty to seventy-five minutes.
While 10th graders took the ACT Aspire test, 9th graders were learning from home. After the 10th graders completed their ACT Aspire tests, the 9th graders began their ACT Aspire tests on April 14th and 15th. Dates of tests for 9th grade students were based on the same last name letter system as grade 10 students.
Reported ACT scores should be released around April 27 to June 11, according to the ACT website. The website also states, “Occasionally we are unable to post scores when expected. If yours are not available yet, it may be due to one of these issues: answer documents from your test center arrived late or your test date was rescheduled, the “Matching Information” you provided on the answer document (name, date of birth, and Match Number) is not consistent with the Matching Information on your admission ticket…an irregularity is reported at your test center, [or if] you owe any registration fees.”
There are resources for students to prepare ahead of time for the ACT Aspire testing. For example, Thomas Stuber, a South Campus counselor at Arrowhead for last names beginning with A-G, created a video titled “ASPIRE Tutorial” where he shows how to navigate the Aspire test. This video is located on the “ACT Aspire 9” page of the Arrowhead website.
The Arrowhead website also provides documents for students so that they can better prepare for the ACT testing. One document titled “ACT Prep for Arrowhead High School Students (2020-21)” links to online materials, local ACT preparation courses, and more.