By Amanda Tennant, staff writer
Since the federal No Child Left Be- hind Act was passed in 2001, Wiscon- sin students’ academic progress has been measured through the Wiscon- sin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE).
However, as students prepare them- selves for upcoming testing, new tests will be administered to define students’ progression and growth.
Recently, the state of Wisconsin began a new partnership with ACT to test students on academic performance. With this partnership, the WKCE once taken by underclassman will be re- placed by the ACT Aspire test. As for juniors, who originally did not partake in testing, they will be administered a free ACT, plus the writing portion, in March.
“[It is] directed by the state. They felt it was important for all Wisconsin ju- niors to have the opportunity to take a college entry exam,” says Art Preuss, a counselor at Indian Trail High School and Academy.
As questions about the new testing system arise, many students ask, what exactly is the ACT?
“The ACT is a national college ad- missions examination that consists of subject area tests in subject area tests in English, mathematics, reading, science,” according to actstudent.org
If opted in, a writing portion will also be administered with the ACT. (The writing portion will be included when juniors take the ACT in March.)
The ACT with writing is comprised with 215 multiple-choice questions and a 30 minute writing portion that are timed at three hours and 25 minutes.
How the ACT scores the student is based on what the student knows. Therefore, students are encouraged to answer all the questions available, even if the student is unsure.
The changes for the new ACT testing schedule are dependent on the grade. Ninth graders have already taken the ACT Aspire online this fall and are ex- pected to take it again in the spring. For the 10th graders, the science and social studies portion of the WKCE was ad- ministered in the fall and they will join the ninth graders in taking the ACT Aspire online in the spring. Finally, for the juniors, in March they will take a paper copy of the ACT with writing as well as taking the ACT WorkKeys. The seniors will not participate in any testing.
The juniors taking the ACT in March will be spared the regular $54.50 fee to take the test. School officials hope that it will help students who are in financial trouble and therefore could not have previously taken the test.
“It’s going to be a bonus to everyone, to students and parents,” Preuss said.
Another advantage of taking the ACT in March is that the stu- dent can retake the ACT multiple times until the student is satis- fied with his or her score.
“After receiving the results, some students may opt to retake the ACT to improve their score,” said Jennifer Knight, assistant principal at ITHS&A.
Of those who took the ACT more than once, 57 percent in- creased their composite score, according to www.act.org
For juniors looking to prepare for the ACT, prep classes will be given during certain times of the year and students are encouraged to partake in them.
As per incentives for doing well on the ACT, Knight said that the staff is working on school-based incentives for students’ performance on the ACT.
Though as staff work on an incentive, Preuss looks towards the student’s score as the best incentive.
“[The] incentives should be that the higher you score, the more college opportunities and scholarship opportunities will be available,” Preuss said.