As spring break comes around, the sophomores begin to prepare for their Pre-ACT district testing. For many sophomores, the Pre-ACT offers an opportunity to see where they test and what they could improve upon before their actual SAT and ACT during their junior year. The test will be proctored on Tuesday, April 22nd. 

Sophomore Zane Hamblin ‘27 explained, “I think the Pre-ACT gives me the chance to see how I do on certain topics without having real consequences on what the score will be.” As Zane detailed, the Pre-ACT offers a chance to view how you do on a variety of topics but also does not have the stress of a possible test score that would have to be submitted to college. 

One of the many things the Pre-ACT offers is a variety of different topics that are tested upon. Unlike the PSAT and SAT, which are split into two math and english sections, the Pre-ACT and ACT cover english, reading, mathematics, and science. The extra topics in the Pre-ACT causes it to be roughly half an hour longer than the PSAT, which can add difficulty for some students

Sophomore Beckett Fraser ‘27 believes that because of the science section, he may do better on the Pre-ACT than he did on the PSAT last fall. Beckett commented, “I might prefer the ACT because I think the addition of a science portion could help improve my score.” 

The differing variables that make up the PSAT and Pre-ACT make both of the tests dependent on how the test taker is able to handle them. The Pre-ACT is longer and covers more topics, but is more straightforward with the questions. The PSAT is shorter, with only math and english sections, but is much more intricate into the specific sections.  

While the sophomores are taking the Pre-ACT, the rest of the school will have an asynchronous day. Similar to how the SAT asynchronous day works when the juniors take the SAT, sophomores will not be assigned work, but the rest of the school will receive an online assignment from their classes. These assignments will likely provide more free time than a regular school day would. 

For the sophomores, the Pre-ACT will serve as a great chance to improve what testing skills they may be lacking in and grasp how they need to prepare for next year. Taking both the Pre-ACT and the PSAT will allow students to choose which test they prefer to focus on for the incoming junior year. Ultimately, the test will be helpful to sophomores for their standardized testing skills and will be a nice break for the rest of the school as they prepare for AP testing.