Yes, I took the ACT in June

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present to peers at the Professional Education Symposium on my experience regarding taking the ACT as an adult. I thought as students and parents you might be interested in hearing about it.

I read an essay in the Journal of College Admissions (NACAC) about a college counselor in New York who took the SAT when the format changed. Since the majority of our students take the ACT, I decided to begin with that test, especially with the addition of the writing test.

I registered to take the June 2007 test. It had been over 10 years since I took the ACT "for real," and I was nervous. First, I do not look like I am in high school, so will I stand out? Second, will anyone there know me (um, yes...)? Third, will I remember the material (I did, thankfully, from teaching the ACT Prep class)? And, fourth, what will happen when people hear that I took the test?

The morning of the test I slept in (okay, not in high school terms, but in my world) until 6:45, showered and threw on clothes that I thought would help me blend in - jeans and a sweatshirt. I arrived at the test center at 7:30, checked in, and waited. And, as I was waiting, I realized that one of my students (MG - you know who you are!) was taking the test in the same room. Now, I purposely registered to take the test 45 minutes from Perry so that I wouldn't chance taking the test with one of my students. But it all worked out okay.

The test was very long. I'm glad I brought a granola bar and bottle of water for the 5 minute break. I am also glad I borrow a good calculator to use, as my calculator is from high school (read - before graphing calculators were affordable). Also, I brought 5 pencils, which came in handy, as the room's pencil sharpener was not functional. And the test room was FREEZING; my extra sweatshirt was very useful.

I found parts of the test to be very familiar (Reading, English and Writing) because so much of my job and personal interests involve using these skills daily. The math and science reasoning sections were a very different story. I ran out of time on the math section and had to utilize my "letter of the day." I did well on the science section, but the time came in at the wire. If I had not learned the ACT Prep skills for teaching the class here at Perry, I do not think I would have been prepared for the math or science sections.

And now that the test is over, what will people think? First, I am met with disbelief. Why would you take the test? What were you thinking? Did you send the scores anywhere? Second, they want to know my score. And I show them, but I remind them that I have a bachelor's and master's degree. But I refuse to show students, as it becomes a contest. All I tell them is that I beat my score from high school.

Taking the ACT as an adult opened my eyes to Test Anxiety, which was the focus of my Tuesday presentation. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the presentation, please send me an email and I will gladly forward on the powerpoint.

I encourage all teachers, counselors, administrators, and college admissions counselors to take the ACT and SAT. You will gain so much insight on the process of testing and the pressure that our students feel about one single morning in their lives.