The 2025 ACT (American College Test) is coming to Skyline High School March 25 for all Juniors registered to take the exam. From 7:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., Juniors will be taking the test while other students get the entire day off of school.
The ACT is a test that could help some students’ college applications or aid them in gaining scholarships. A high ACT score is one thing that can help give students a better chance of getting into colleges that require the test. Kylee Joyce, a counselor at Skyline High School, said that there are a few reasons students are inspired to take the ACT, and scholarships are one of them.
She explained, “I think the biggest motivator is there are some scholarships out there that will offer you money if you do well on the ACT, so merit based scholarships; I always feel like that’s a huge motivator for students.”
Another instigator is students’ goals and where they want to be later in life. Some colleges make it necessary to have an ACT score to be admitted into their program. If a student wants to get into an Ivy League school, they are more likely to want to perform their best on the ACT or the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test). Joyce stated, “So I think students’ goals and what they want to do after graduation—that’s also a big motivator.”
Apart from being stressful for the students taking the test, setting up for the ACT can also be stressful for the teachers and administrators. Because the ACT is a national test, every aspect for test day has to be exactly right. Karen Manning, the Secretary of the Career Center, has been working with the ACT for the past nine years and helps organize getting the ACT to come to Skyline.
Manning says, “I mean it’s a lot of really nit-picky […] it has to be exactly right.” The ACT has strict rules about testing conditions so that there is no room for cheating and the exam is as uniform as possible.
The faculty at Skyline, namely the staff in the Career Center, are the ones who arrange the testing rooms. One of these people is Robert Scott, who has helped with the ACT for fifteen years now. He helps put together all the paperwork and straighten out all the little details. He said, “We put together the testing rooms and all the paperwork and […] behind the stage work to make it all happen.”
The Career Center helps sort out all the pieces that need to be put together. Manning says they do things like getting accommodations ready and setting up role calls. Another way the Career Center helps students prepare for the ACT is their ACT prep classes that they hold. Manning says the prep classes teach strategies for test taking and shows the type of content that will be on the ACT.
This year, prep classes for English, Reading, and Science are being held in room 2207 at 2:30 p.m. on March 3 through March 20; Monday through Friday. Prep classes for Math are held in room 2506 at 6:30 a.m. March 4 through 20. To attend these classes, students can sign up for them anytime in the Career Center.
Before taking the ACT at Skyline, six days before the test on March 19, Juniors will have a pre-registration. The school is calling it “Pre-Act Bubbling,” which is where Juniors will ensure their school Chromebook is up to date and that they fill out their information for ACT and, if students want, they can give information to ACT about things like which schools they want their scores to be sent to.
Although the test may seem big and stressful, many faculty members at Skyline have advice for students about to take the test. “It’s really important to get a really good night’s rest the night before, make sure you bring snacks, so when it’s break time, you can kind of like refresh your brain and your energy levels,” Joyce says. Scott advises students to take the practice ACT tests so that they know what type of content will be on the exam and to learn techniques to help to take the test.
As the test approaches, even though it is easier said than done, try not to stress because “there’s always the opportunity to take it again if you need to,” says Joyce.
