High schoolers will soon have another way to prepare for the ACT: the PreACT.
The PreACT, announced last month, will primarily serve as a practice test for the ACT college entrance exam, and is geared toward 10th-graders, says Paul Weeks, senior vice president for client relations at ACT, the organization behind the two exams. However, there will also be an education and career planning component to the new exam, he says.
Anathea Simpkins, director of college prep programs for Sylvan Learning, a private tutoring organization, thinks the PreACT will essentially be the ACT’s version of the PSAT, the preliminary exam for another popular college admissions exam and ACT’s main competitor — the SAT.
[Get information on how parents, teens can make use of PSAT scores.]
The PreACT and PSAT have similarities — both are aimed at 10th-graders and are designed to prep students for their corresponding college entrance exams. However, the PSAT is also the qualifying exam for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship. Weeks says the PreACT is not associated with any scholarship opportunities.
Before the PreACT makes its debut this fall, parents and high schoolers should know a few facts about the new exam.
1. Initially, students will only be able to take the PreACT if their school offers it. The only students who need to be concerned about the PreACT are those whose schools are offering it, says Simpkins.
Students will initially only have access to the exam if their school, district or state is offering it — the organization won’t be offering consumers the chance to sign up on their own, Weeks says.
2. The PreACT will closely mirror the ACT. The content, format and question types will simulate what students will see on the ACT, says Weeks, but the PreACT will be shorter than the ACT.
Both the PreACT and the ACT will test students in English, math, reading and science; however, the PreACT will not have an optional writing test like the ACT.
Plus, both exams will be scored on a 1 to 36 scale. Schools should receive students’ scores within five to 10 days of submitting completed tests to ACT, Weeks says. Schools will also receive an estimated ACT score range for each student.
And while there is an online option to complete the ACT, the PreACT will only be administered on paper initially, he says.
3. There’s more to the PreACT than practicing for the ACT. PreACT test-takers will be asked to provide information on their interests, the courses they plan to take in high school and their expected college major, Weeks says.
That information will then be distributed to students with their results. The idea is to help parents and counselors start important conversations related to college and careers.
4. Teens shouldn’t worry too much about prepping for the PreACT. The best preparation for the PreACT is to take courses like those in English, social studies, science and math, which tend to develop skills that are measured on the ACT, says Weeks. And the more rigorous, the better, he says.
Taking the PreACT as a 10th-grader might help a student determine what he or she has to do to get ready for the ACT, he says.
[Find out what students should know before starting SAT, ACT prep.]
Simpkins says the PreACT gives students an opportunity to practice for the ACT. But it will also provide students, parents and educators with a way to identify a student’s strengths and weaknesses — information they can use to build and refine the skills students will need to be successful in college and beyond.
She’d recommend students take the exam if they have the option.
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4 Important Facts for Parents, Students About the PreACT originally appeared on usnews.com
