ACT TESTING PREPARATION

Now that the ACT test is a graduation requirement for the state of MN. All 11th graders will take the ACT during the spring (mid-late April) of their Junior year.

The ACT test has always been a tried-and-true measure of college bound readiness for those students interested in attending different colleges or universities throughout the nation that it is vital to open that opportunity to all students and eliminate the potential barriers ($54 per test). In an effort to help close as many gaps as we can, I am including a list of places to go for study help for this important test.

Website: "The top 5 ACT preparation Apps" (some are free versions, others have a fee associated with their use) ACTStudent, AllenACT, ACT Mcgraw Hill, ACT for Dummies, Shmoop ACT Test prep

More coming soon! It's never too early to start preparing for the ACT!

It is available for anyone to take at Cook County Schools. We offer it twice a year on the national testing dates (Fall and Spring), and every student is compared against their SAME AGED PEERS- meaning 8th graders are not compared to seniors, or 10th graders.
Taking it multiple times gives the student a higher probability of having a higher score, and the difference between a few points could be admission into your students' preferred college and denial, or the difference of 2-10 thousand dollars in scholarship money!!

SAT Tests are also currently given twice per year (late fall and early spring typically). These are less commonly preferred among admissions professionals for schools located in the Midwest. However, if your child is potentially looking to go to schools on the East or West Coast (New York, California, Virginia, Washington, etc.), then I would recommend taking the SAT more often than the ACT.
What if my child only has taken the ACT and then decides to go out of the Midwest? Have no fear, there are conversion tables that compare approximate SAT scores with ACT scores, and vice-versa.

Any further questions? Should my 8th grader consider the ACT? My 10th grader doesn't know what they want to do after High School! Alternatives to HS Graduation?

Talk to the School Counselor, today!