***William Ly is a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.
Standardized testing is one of the most important and stressful times for students. Standardized testing can give students opportunities that are crucial to their future and affect our community, state and even country. This year, testing looks a little different than before.
For the first time in a decade, Illinois is now using the ACT instead of the SAT. After switching to a digital exam last year, Illinois’s contract with College Board, the company that creates and administers the yearly SAT, expired. As a result, Springfield opted to return to the ACT for the first time since 2016.
KHS’s freshmen and sophomores will take the Pre-ACT, and juniors will sit for the ACT on Thursday. Both tests will be completed during the school day at Kewanee High School.
The ACT and SAT are fairly similar, at least in their overall focus. Both tests contain a math, English, and writing portion. The ACT’s biggest difference stems from its science section.
Because it needs to be standardized for all students across the country, the science portion is less focused on knowledge of information. This section tests students on their ability to read graphs and charts and pull data from them.
Like the SAT, the ACT will also be digital this year. Students will take these tests on Chromebooks instead of the classic Scantrons.
To help students prepare for this high-pressure test, KHS Academic Advisor Heather Olalde created a “March Madness” style Academic Readiness Championship Bracket. For several weeks, students have been able to earn points for their team by completing a variety of challenges focused on different areas of the ACT.
The bracket is not head-to-head, and no team is ever eliminated. Instead, each week the top point earners are celebrated and given prizes.
Individual top scorers thus far include freshman Lucero Cervantes and juniors Taylor VanWinkle, Anna Chabanenko, Abigail Wyant and Gabriel Anderson.
In addition to this competition, Olalde has shared a variety of resources with faculty and students. Teachers were provided practice test resources, such as question-of-the-day bell ringer activities. Olalde also offered strategies to implement in the classroom curriculum to help improve tested skills.
As test day nears, Olalde has encouraged students to stay calm, rest well and practice often. There are many online resources available to help students with test preparation at no cost.
“This score is used in the college admissions process and scholarship selection. Students with high scores can earn substantial tuition benefits from most colleges,” Olalde said. “However, many don’t realize the ACT score is also used for entrance into many labor unions and military programs, making it equally relevant for students who are not headed to college.”
While standardized testing season is a difficult time of year for students, a high score can be life changing. Success allows students to prove their worth not only to themselves but to prospective employers, scholarship committees, colleges and universities and more.
