001I feel like my confidence has grown a lot, especially knowing like how the questions are asked. You'll be asked to locate specific details. This is where you see according to the passage. So, knowing those little stems on the questions is key, okay? According to the passage, you have to find it. If it's not there, if you can't locate it in the text, it's not the right answer. I used to be very confused on a lot of them, not know where to start, but like the enrichments have like helped me at the very least understand like where to begin. So, one of the first things that we did when we were thinking of ACT prep, is we really tried to align it between our science, our math, and our English department. So, one of the things
002that we did as division chairs, is we sat down and we tried to build a consistent schedule, so that it was consistent for teachers and for students. >> We start with, you know, teaching those those core concepts. In addition to that, we've looked at test familiarity. It's really important that the students understand going into the test what the test entails, how many questions, what's the pacing, things to expect on test day. With English, especially teaching AP language, there's a lot of commonalities in the type of reading strategies that we're working on for rhetorical analysis that align with ACT reading. >> Well, we're currently embedding ACT prep into our classes. We aligned our curriculum Specifically with ACT science section, aligns very naturally with what we do in class on a daily basis. >> Since I work
003with students who predominantly struggle with reading and writing, we chunk it in the academic setting for those students, so it's not full 45-minute time periods. We do them in smaller chunks, so that it's more attainable, they feel some success, and then we have that buy-in for them to be more successful. One of the big obstacles students have is having the time to go to these test preps, they're like paying for them if they're doing like a Sylvan Learning Center or private tutoring. Um, so we wanted to make sure that students were aware of all these great resources we have at Andrew High School. Uh, one of the things that we did to kick off this test prep season essentially was we did an ACT prep kickoff for the students um, highlighting the resources that are
004available which include Global Classroom, Albert.io, um, our second hour enrichments as well as our evening enrichments and working with the students so they can make a plan. So we wanted to make sure that we educate our students and families so they're aware of these resources available and they can make a committed plan to make sure they're prepared um, for April ninth. This really speaks to equity and by naturally embedding that in the school day, all students have access to that. I I think the biggest challenge is getting the students to commit that there is a process. Definitely is the Albert.io and then obviously the evening sessions. Even the solo math practice tests have been super helpful and with the teacher going over the questions I didn't understand, it kind of opened my eyes and helped
005me visualize this is where I need to work on. So I went to the uh, initial ACT like table time that they gave you the paperwork that showed you your past scores like back in October and it did show where I needed to do my most work on. I think preparation builds confidence. We are working on those skills often and consistent basis in the classroom. Um, letting them know that this is the skill that you are going to utilize um, and then applying it to multiple different applications, different units, different concepts embedded within the course gives them a chance to recognize that it's something they're familiar with. I feel more confident in understanding and approaching the question and understanding that I can figure it out. I would say stay confident with your answers and trust
006your gut feeling. We really wanted to focus on how the ACT can help prepare them for future post-secondary options. So, whether that's looking at college placement, whether that's looking at merit scholarships, that's money that can be awarded based just on their ACT performance alone. And really how the ACT can also help to show and highlight their strengths that they already have as a student. It really does matter for like your future. A lot of colleges do like take that score into account on whether or not they'll admit you and like what your major will be. The ACT prep is really about and ACT test itself is really about highlighting those strengths and opening up as many opportunities in the post-secondary world for students.