This is the first year that Illinois is mandating a required in-school ACT test instead of the SAT that was taken by students in years prior. Schools in Illinois proctored the test on the week of April 13.
For Hinsdale Central students, the ACT was taken by juniors while the freshmen took the PreACT on Wednesday, April 16. Sophomores completed the assessment on Thursday, April 17. The seniors did not have to attend school on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Central students reflected on how they think they did on the ACT.
“I think I did well on the ACT, but obviously I will not get my test scores back for five to eight more weeks,” said Franklin Chemmachel, junior.
Many students felt discouraged because of the harsh time constraints put in place for sections of the test.
“I think I did OK during the test, but I felt very rushed especially during the math section of the test,” said Finesa Bajraktari, junior. “I felt like I couldn’t finish it effectively with the time that I was given.”
Students at Hinsdale Central often have feelings of stress during finals week and state issued tests, like the ACT.
“I definitely get really stressed during the ACT because I believe that it matters a lot in college,” Chemmachel said.
People at the school said they were upset that they had to go to school on Friday, April 18, as many school districts in Illinois got the day off.
“I felt as though we shouldn’t have had school that day because all of the seniors made it a skip day anyways,” said Stella McCarroll, junior. “In all of my classes we didn’t do anything but watch movies or have a study hall, so it was pretty useless.”
Students were also upset that they had to go to school because of the fact it was a religious holiday.
“I felt disrespected as a Catholic that I had to go to school during Good Friday. I think that we should have that day off,” Chemmachel said. “I was also mad that during lunch the school only served chicken options, which practicing Catholics cannot eat.”
To learn more about the ACT test, go to this link.
