Juniors’ take PreACT in preparation for the real ACT in February

All juniors at GHS took the a Pre-act Test this past Wednesday on Nov. 28, and this is the first year that the PreACT was given.

“We chose to give the PreACT because it mimics the state level ACT test that all of the juniors in the State of WI have to take on Feb 27,” Principal Steve Lodes said.

Many juniors are nervous to take the test in February so administrators are hoping that this experience will help.

“The ACT can be a scary thing for a lot of students.  Any exposure to actually being in standardized testing situations can only help with this,” guidance counselor Christopher Muench said.

The juniors that tested were sitting two at a table and had between 30 to 40 minutes to finish each test, depending on the section.  

“I felt it was super helpful, but it was scary because there wasn’t enough time to finish the answers,” junior Tess Schaefer said.  

Counselors were also there to assist anyone with anything.

“We hope each student will have a better idea of where they stand on the ACT, what the test is like, and how they might want to prepare for the real ACT in February,” guidance counselor John Bly said. “As a school, we want to see if there are certain concepts, skills, etc. where we need to do a better job of preparing all our students”.

Some students seemed upset about only just being informed about the test the day before.

“I think it would’ve been nice to have a heads up before break because then maybe I could’ve prepared a little bit before,” junior Mya Colon said.

Other students didn’t mind.

“I probably would have wanted to know about it after break, because I probably would’ve forgotten about it,” junior James Johnson said.

Students will get their results in a few weeks.

“You get an actual Pre ACT score.  You also get a 4 number range score (ex. 20-23) on a predicted ACT score — composite and in each subject area (math, english, reading, and science),” Lodes said. “You also get detailed results in the different content categories (specific skills) within the larger subject area.”

It’s no joke when teachers say that students should take the ACT very seriously.

“The ACT is one of the major factors used in college admissions decisions at many universities. Doing poorly can make you a less competitive candidate and reduce your chances of being accepted,” Bly said.