Put to the test

If you're not ready for the ACT, you better prepare PDQ

By Christine Grosz

   Admit it.

   You live in fear of the dreaded college entrance exams. It all seems like a conspiracy: the No. 2 pencils, the Scantron sheets, the sealed booklets. And who really believes you can get a good night's sleep right before an event that could decide your entire future?

   Fear not. Even though it may seem that the PSAT, P-ACT, ACT and SAT are designed by sadistic corporate test proctors to torment high school students, a multitude of classes and teachers exist to make the experience less horrifying.

   Enrolling in an ACT or SAT preparation course can be beneficial. For one thing, the classes provide an introduction to the exams, as well as information about test content.

   Linda Scott is an assistant principal who has been teaching a nine-hour ACT preparation course at a junior college for 10 years. Although the course is short, she said it helps students put their test-taking fears aside.

   "Taking the ACT is like taking a test with a new teacher for the first time," she said. "For a lot of students just knowing how to take a test and knowing the format of the test can help them do better. I try to tell them everything they need to do so they're not stressed out."

   Scott's ACT prep course features a mixture of lecture, discussion, exams and question and answer. Students take practice exams and explore their weak areas in order to improve.

   There are also companies, like the Sylvan Learning Center, that offer preparation programs. The Sylvan program focuses on critical thinking skills. The company believes these help students both in the college-entrance exams, as well as day-to-day high school and college class work. Costs and the length of the Sylvan program depend on the student and her goals.

   "The recommended best time to take the ACT is April instead of June. In June, juniors have finals and summer," Joyce said. "If the need is for remediation, they can take it again in June or the fall."

   TEST TAKERS ARE MEN AND WOMEN OF MANY LETTERS

   Perhaps the first major collegeentrance test is learning to understand the alphabet soup of test names.

   ACT: American College Testing Assessment, one of the standardized tests required by colleges. Traditionally, Midwestern colleges have accepted the ACT over other tests. The ACT lasts almost three hours. It is offered in October, December, February, April and June.

   PLAN: The ACT's practice test.

   PSAT/NMSQT: Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The official practice test for the SAT. Scores also enter test-takers into competition for a National Merit Scholarship. The test is only administered in October. Scholarship finalists are notified in April.

   SAT: Scholastic Assessment Tests: the standardized tests traditionally accepted by colleges on the East and West coasts, Ivy League schools and Big 10 colleges. The SAT is offered several times each year.