Two hundred fifteen questions. Three hours. Four sections. One score that determines a student’s college preparedness and potential. Perhaps one of the most well known college entrance exams, the ACT is important indicator of a student’s academic performance through high school. It is also accepted by every four-year college and university in the United States.
“If [students] have never taken it before, they don’t really realize how grueling it is,” ACT Prep teacher Pam Stratton said. “I mean, three hours with one 10 minute break is exhausting. Learning how to pace themselves will help tremendously.”
The ACT is broken up into four sections: English, math, reading, and science. The 45 minute, 75 question, English portion measures standard English and rhetorical skills and the 35 minute, 40 question, reading portion of the test measures students reading comprehension. The 60 minute, 60 question math section of the ACT measures the math skills that students have learned throughout high school and contains various topics ranging from pre-algebra to trigonometry and plane geometry. Lastly, the 35 minute, 40 question, science portion of the test measures skills such as interpretation of data and analytic reasoning that are involved in natural sciences.
“It’s all about improvement,” Stratton said. “Some kids have taken it before, we talk about setting a realistic target. Realistically, you should be able to utilize strategies and raise [your score] at least three points.”
Since the ACT plays a key role in college acceptance, FHN introduced an ACT Prep class this year in order to better prepare students and increase their chances for scholarships and various forms of financial aid. Throughout the course of one semester, the two classes switch between Stratton, who teaches the math and science portions, and Dawn Jones, who teaches the English and reading portions. About every two weeks, the students in math switch to English and vice versa.
“Anyone in math first quarter could forget everything, so we just do it back and forth,” Jones said.
The class specifically targets the ACT by focusing on the content of the test, while also teaching students useful strategies to tackle each portion. Some of these strategies include Process of Elimination (POE), estimation, and Personal Order of Difficulty (POOD).
“POOD is essential on the reading section,” Jones said. “Of the reading passages, students know which they’re best at and which they’re worst at and they put them in order of personal difficulty. They can do drills and decide how they take the test.”
For junior Zak Davlin, the decision to sign up for ACT prep was largely based on his desire to earn scholarships since he must pay for college on his own. With continued practice in class, Davlin is aiming for a 30 on his ACT.
“I’ve already seen that by applying strategies to English, I only miss one to two questions per page,” Davlin said. “I think most things [we have learned] are going to improve my score five to six points. I’ve seen improvement through the practice and the homework we get.”
