High school students study for ACT test

Tri-City area high school juniors and seniors are preparing now to take the ACT test.

The ACT is a national college admissions exam covering English, mathematics, reading and science. It also includes a writing section.

The state-issued ACT test for juniors will be administered March 1. The state gives the test once each year at each high school, St. Mary Parish Schools Assistant Superintendent Teresa Bagwell said.

For a couple of years now, high school juniors have been required by the state to take the ACT before graduation, Bagwell said.

“They take it in their junior year and the state pays for that assessment,” Bagwell.

For the state-administered test, guidance counselors help students register at no cost.

Some seniors will retake the ACT in order to achieve a higher score during their senior year, but they pay for it themselves.

Morgan City, Patterson and Berwick high schools offer ACT test preparation for students during or after school and even on weekends. The test prep is offered based on student population needs.

“We have had ACT prep courses in the past to remediate targeted students,” Morgan City High School principal Mickey Fabre said in an email. “We also had a class scheduled for the second semester this school year.

“However, we have administered the WorkKeys test to our targeted students and the vast majority has passed at this point,” he said.

A passing score on the ACT test is 18. A score of 18 or higher earns the school points in the state’s accountability system, Fabre said.

“We purchased an ACT online program that is utilized in every class (even home room classes), usually as a daily starter or review,” Fabre said.

Patterson High School offered two sections of ACT prep this past fall. One section of ACT preparation is currently being offered for the spring semester.

In addition, Kimberly Saucier, ACT prep teacher at Patterson High, offers after-school help for testing, said Patterson High’s principal Rachael Sanders.

High schools make adjustments on scheduling test prep from year to year.

In the past, Saucier held Saturday ACT prep workshops at Patterson High.

“ACT preparation is embedded in the classes that the students take on a daily basis through class starters and specific lessons,” said Berwick High Principal Buffy Fegenbush.

High school students have access to online ACT preparation reviews. Each school purchases different programs.

ACT test preparations website links are listed on each school’s website. Since the program is web-based, students can access the site anytime.

Regular ACT testing dates for the spring are Feb. 6 and April 9. The registration cost is $56.50.

The ACT includes 215 multiple-choice questions. It takes over four hours to complete the test, which includes a short break.

The ACT is administered on six testing dates throughout the United States.

According to the Louisiana Department of Education’s First-time College Freshmen State Report, 49 percent of St. Mary Parish public school students enrolled for the fall semester in college during the 2013-14 school year .

Of the 49 percent, the percentage of students enrolled in two-year institutions was 26 percent. The other 74 percent enrolled in four-year schools.

During the 2012-13 school year , the percentage of students enrolled in college after high school graduation was 47 percent.

Of the 47 percent, the percentage of students enrolled in two-year institutions was 31 percent. Sixty-nine percent enrolled in four-year schools.