The ACT, scheduled for March 25, is right around the corner for Bellevue East juniors. Without the OnToCollege ACT preparatory advisory that was offered to juniors last school year, students are preparing for the test in other ways.

During the 2023-2024 school year the John Baylor “OnToCollege” program was an advisory that juniors could sign up for that worked through ACT related materials. This advisory is no longer active in the 2024-25 school year.

“We have done several different iterations of it [the John Baylor “OnToCollege” program],” Assistant Principal Susan Jensen said. “The way we did it last year was really kind of the first time we did that particular model with OnToCollege advisory, prior to that we had teachers using some of the OnToCollege materials in their English, math, and science classes.”

Now, the school provides juniors with access to the ACT online prep website, or onlineprep.act.org. The website guides students through individualized lessons covering material that may be on the ACT.

“I will also be sending out the opportunity for all students so that they can get an account and work through those practice problems, go through the games that are on the system, do some of the tests taking tips and tricks, and things like that,” Jensen said.

Another resource that some juniors are using to study is NoRedInk. The website that is provided by the school guides students through different English topics. Some English classes, such as instructor David Bossman’s English 11AP classes, have made NoRedInk a graded assignment.

“To study for the ACT, I am using NoRedInk for English help, doing practice tests with College Board, and looking through my sister’s old ACT prep books,” junior Layne Parker said.

The information on the ACT test is usually taught between seventh and ninth grade. Jensen says that the classes that juniors are in now are solid foundations, especially if they are in advanced or AP classes. However, she also says that recalling the information from previous grades can be difficult if a student has not used those skills recently.

“So a lot of it is review and if you haven’t put those foundational skills really into your personal repertoire and you can’t recall those things immediately, that’s where it kind of becomes a problem on the ACT,” Jensen said.

Finding the time to study can be difficult for some students. According to Parker, school, work, and sports can make it difficult to find time to study. A possible solution for students in the same position can be to make a study plan where students designate a time in their schedule to study.

“I try to practice at least 2-3 times a week,” Parker said.

According to The Princeton Review, some common mistakes that students make on the ACT include ignoring the amount of time they have, doing the work in their head instead of on scratch paper, and not reading all of the possible answer choices. Making mistakes on the ACT can lower a student’s score.

“The two biggest things [kids make mistakes on] number one is timing because it is a timed test,” Jensen said. “The second thing is they say about eighty percent of mistakes on the ACT are what they call simple mistakes, and what that means is you either read the question wrong, you didn’t understand what it was asking, or you misunderstood one of the answer choices.”

The ACT can be a stressful test for many people. The test is typically looked at for college admissions, so doing well can be a priority for some students. There are also potential scholarships, according to junior Amaya Sterup.

“With the ACT I could get a full ride to some colleges and the college I want to go to,” Sterup said.

Both Sterup and Parker say that they are nervous for the ACT. However, minimizing stress can help students perform better overall on the test, according to Jeff L. Schiel in his article Test-Related Behaviors and Performance on the ACT.

“I think as long as you look at it as a positive experience, it is less stressful and so generally scores are a little bit higher when it’s something you are positive about or looking forward to versus dreading,” Jensen said.