By Alyssa Solis/Staff Writer
After much debate, ACT will soon allow students to retake sections of its test. American College Testing officials claim that it’s in the student’s best interest, but how does the student body feel about it?
“The opportunity to retake sections is very beneficial,” said Emily Buckson, an Indian Trail High School & Academy junior. It will decrease a student’s stress and only have the ability to increase a student’s score, she said.
“It’s a lot better than the older way of taking the entire test and worrying about a completely different composite score,” said Terrell Franklin, another IT junior.
Most juniors seem to feel this way and rejoice over being able to focus their efforts on one section they did poorly on rather than on the entire test to make sure their composite score doesn’t go down. It will certainly improve students’ scores, high school students predict.
But will colleges see it the same way?
“When I first heard about it, I thought it would be a good idea for students wanting to retake the exam so they don’t have to be testing for 4 to 5 hours on a Saturday afternoon,” said Soyeon Kang, another IT junior. “It will help students be able to focus on improving a specific section without the added stress of possibly getting same or lower scores on the others.”
“However, if students are able to keep retaking the exam, the value of the ACT will decline, and it already is,” Kang said.
This is the concern that people had when the idea of section testing first emerged. Although ACT says that studies show that section retesting does not affect a student’s score on that section, colleges may not be convinced and will look down on the test for being less rigorous.
Critics of ACT and SAT testing argue it seems like colleges are putting less importance on tests like the ACT and SAT.
“I don’t think the ACT represents someone as a student. Some students are great workers and leaders but horrible test takers. Some students are great at holding and regurgitating information needed for a short time in order to glide through their life. A student’s work ethic, social skills, and capacity for adaptation represents them,” Franklin said.
Some colleges have dropped standardized testing from their admission processes. According to the Missouri State University, as many as one in four colleges have dropped testing requirements for admissions.
Another concern seems to be the price of the section retake.
“It seems unfair for those who come from low-income households, although some may be able to afford paying for one section,” Kang said.
Although the prices haven’t come out yet, Kang brings up concerns many critics have of the ACT as well as a point supporters of the section retesting bring up. People who couldn’t previously afford to retake a full exam now have the possibility to retake their worst section and get a higher score without needing to pay the full exam price.
While these changes to the ACT are beneficial, colleges are catching on to the fact that standardized tests like the ACT are not representative of a student’s readiness for college. Critics contend the ACT is becoming more and more unimportant, which may make the need for section retesting obsolete. However, there are many big scholarships people can get from having a good ACT score, so don’t give up on getting a good ACT score just yet.
For those who are interested, anyone who takes the ACT this year and after will be able to retake specific sections online at a testing site starting in September.