New ACT format ready for debut

 This year students at HHS will be among the first to take the new online ACT test.

On February 25th juniors and sophomores will be taking the annual ACT exam. Juniors will be taking the test through a system on Pearson while sophomores will be using a new testing option through Naviance.

Students will be using their own chromebooks and will log into the test through Pearson.

For HHS it was as clear a choice as any to make the switch to the online ACT.

“That’s the way ACT is moving, and it fit our school given that our students have the chromebooks, and it made sense for the organization of the test,” said Serena Schmidt, HHS counselor.

Because each student owns a chromebook and so much school work is already done through the computers it seemed an obvious decision. 

“We do everything digitally now, the MCA’s and homework even tests. When you head into college a lot of stuff is online now and so the paper pencil is becoming an old system in a lot of ways,” said Ms. Schmidt.

The exam will have the same 4 sections along with an optional writing section. Each section will have the same number of questions and the time for each section will be the same as they are on paper.

“It’s good that the tests are the same length because if someone has the choice to take it on paper vs online it would be unfair to have the online version be shorter,” said Alex Joppa, junior.

For the students at HHS, the news about the online ACT has gotten many mixed opinions.

The online ACT is a great option for those trying to raise their score a few points before applying to colleges as this new ACT option releases scores in a mere two days compared to the previous two to eight weeks.

“It’s really nice that we can take it online because that way we are able to get scores back a lot faster, this is especially nice for those who are applying to college and want a better score quickly,” said Joppa. 

On the flipside, there are some concerns about needing to look at a screen for a little more than three hours. 

While schools can choose to have students take the test strictly on computers, the national testing sites allow students to choose between the two options. If a student chooses to take the test online, they will take the test on ACT approved computers. 

“I think schools should have a mixed mode because a lot of students have different preferences,” said Joppa. “There are a lot of kids that would have trouble looking at a screen for long periods of time.”