Faculty and students stay on the with ball examinations as the end of the semester approaches.
As the number of school days is winding down, there are still some important objectives that the students – especially juniors – need to complete. One of them includes taking the ACT, which is a test that may determine the future of students and which college they can attend. The test will be administered at TJ on Wednesday, April 27.
“This is a great opportunity for all of the juniors at TJ, because we offer free preparation for the test, and the test is free their first time,” said TJ Administrative Assistant JoAnne Moreno, who is responsible for many of the tests that occur at TJ. “Taking this test will show colleges how ready you are to attend their university, and will show your abilities.”
For the past month, TJ’s own Kirk Hammond has been offering free prep classes for all juniors who are interested. “I went to the prep classes last year and I am glad that I took them, because they really helped me get ready for the test itself. My score definitely improved with the help of this prep class,” said Senior Mitch Mankoff. Students can find an ACT prep that is offered online (click here for more info).
ACT scores directly reflect how well the student has been doing in school. The test can be divided into two parts: a student may take just the multiple choice portion, but the test also has an option to take the writing test to boost scores up if a student has strength in writing. The highest score on the ACT is a 36, and the average national ACT multiple-choice and composite score is a 22. The average score at TJ is 20. “Most Universities in Colorado prefer a score of a 20 or higher. However, I have seen some kids get into college with a low score, but it is very important that students try their best on this test,” said TJ College Counselor Tabitha Rocha.
There are two tests the students can take to get accepted into colleges. Most colleges in the nation accept either the ACT score or the SAT score for deciding who gets admitted. The ACT is a better option for students who may not have a strong vocabulary, but are strong in reading, good at punctuation, sentence, and paragraph structure, and the student is also good at writing essays that are argumentative and persuading. With the ACT, students can “hide” the low score because the scores are all added up for an average.
The test will occur on Wednesday April 27th. All juniors are required to take the test and be at school at 7:30 a.m. The test will last till 11:30 a.m. Please bring your own #2 pencils and calculators (only Ti-84 and calculators older are allowed).
