Starting this school year, the state of Missouri has begun paying for all high school juniors to take one free ACT, and is now one of a dozen states to do so. The state will continue to provide the junior class each year with one free ACT. By giving a free ACT, this will help juniors evaluate their results, determine if they want to take it again, and conclude their readiness for college.

There are many juniors who have never taken the test and feel this is the perfect opportunity. Since the ACT is given at school for free, this drives the students to fully prepare for the test. One junior who hasn’t had the chance to take the test yet is Mellisa Brooks. Brooks believes the convenience of a free test benefits all students and provides them with more chances to succeed.

“It’s a super cool opportunity for kids who haven’t had money or time to have a chance during school to take the test,” Brooks said.

Students are encouraged to fully take advantage of this opportunity they are given and do their best. This will help raise the average over time due to every student having exposure to the test.

“Since it’s free, I think there’s a lot of kids that won’t take it as seriously, but since every student is exposed to the test, it could help them improve in future tests,” junior Nicole Moyes said.

One method of improving the class’ test score average, and eventually the state’s, is taking the ACT prep class. The school has now offered this course since the beginning of the year, and all students are encouraged to take it to improve their score and overall test taking skills. With the option of a free prep class and a free test, overall ACT scores are expected to improve.

“The class gave me tips to get through questions and passages quicker,” junior Trey Flowers said. “It can help individual and average scores.”