Juniors and sophomores, prepare yourselves: The ACT and PreACT schoolwide testing date is March 25, and anyone who has taken either test can tell you, it’s a big one.
Senior Jack O’Neill was one student who understood the need to study for the ACT. He took the test four times, targeting a score of 33, a goal he ultimately met and then surpassed. He aspires to be a physician, so he wanted a score that would give him a better shot at competitive schools and make it easier to win scholarships.
O’Neill’s main preparation was taking practice tests. “I felt they were the best use of my time, exposing me to new content while also learning about the structure of the test, as well as learning critical time-management skills,” O’Neill said.
His name is listed twice on the school’s “30+ Club,” though three of his four scores crossed that threshold. The highest score possible is 36, and surpassing 30 is a feat for any student.
“My main advice to students looking to get good ACT scores is to take practice tests,” O’Neill said. “Get a good night’s sleep the day before, and then take the test with confidence. … Try to stay focused even when you get bored.”
One problem students encounter is lack of awareness about resources. There are numerous ways to prepare for the ACT in and outside of the district, some free while others are costly.
The national ACT test dates are an obvious option, with students registering to take the test outside the regularly scheduled school-wide date. Additional ACT dates are offered both at the school and at other locations throughout the metro area.
Students also have the option to enroll in subject-specific prep classes provided by the district.
Beyond that, there are other practice options students can decide to utilize instead, according to guidance counselor Renee Mead, who serves as ACT coordinator for the school.
“As far as things outside of school in the district, there’s a ton of different stuff,” Mead said. “It really depends on how much students and families want to spend.”
For example, Mead said, “There are free websites where you can do some practice… [and] there’s websites where you can pay a bunch of money to basically get… self-directed paced tutoring.”
Mead also mentioned other in-person options, such as John Baylor’s On To College, and a course named 3MT, or “Three Moms and a Test,” as well as a long list of other resources available to students, provided on the tip sheet here.
Starting in January, the school designated Titan Time Wednesdays as mandatory ACT prep days, particularly for juniors and sophomores, with skill-building assignments organized by science teacher Ms. Jessica Sturgeon.
While there is a lot to consider when getting ready for the ACT, especially with how much subject material the test covers, Sturgeon said she preferred to focus on reminding students of basic test-taking skills, rather than attempting to re-teach the subjects.
“I basically take the components of the tests of the four main subjects, and writing, and break those down into skills that we can learn easily and quickly,” Sturgeon said. “We can’t obviously go back and teach five years worth of math, but we can take a look at some of those skills … and strategies that we can teach that are kind of specific to the ACT.”
Sturgeon said she hopes the school’s free ACT prep enables students to see the test as more approachable and manageable.
“Prep is really expensive if you pay for it,” Sturgeon said. “Especially [for] students who wouldn’t have the opportunity to take prep classes elsewhere… I hope they… get the help that they want.”
DID YOU KNOW: FRESHMEN CAN START EARLY
In what Assistant Principal Matt Hager called an effort to “emphasize Papio South’s academic culture,” the school is giving the option to some freshmen to take the PreACT a year early.
“This year we did not have any National Merit finalists,” Hager explained, “and in an effort to increase the rigor here at the school, give our kids opportunities to test, we wanted to open up to our freshman as well, to give them the experience.”
That experience could translate into higher scores down the line, Principal Jeff Spilker said.
“Studies show that the more times students take the ACT, the better they do,” Spilker said.
By providing students with the experience early, in 9th grade, the school is hoping it will help students not only reach higher scores, but also give them better entrance into scholarships and college programs.
The freshmen taking the test early would benefit from the free practice because it would allow them to find the baseline of their score for the future, Spilker said.
The exact details had not been laid out, as of press time, in terms of which freshmen would be offered the opportunity, nor the criteria for being invited, but the PreACT still would not be a requirement for any freshmen.
“Ultimately it still has to go through parent permission and approval,” Hager said, “because it’s a day that they’re technically off of school, so it’ll be up to students and their parents.”
The exact time these freshmen would be contacted or chosen had not been decided, but Hager said that the date was “rapidly approaching.”
