Hays High School offered an ACT preparation class on Jan. 21 from 6 p.m. to 9:55 p.m. for students looking to prepare for the ACT or to improve their ACT score.

The class cost $45 and included relevant and practical information on how to increase one’s ACT score. Since the ACT is relatively predictable, studying for it like a regular test is possible. The class covered what will be on the test and how to sharpen test-taking techniques.

“I took the ACT prep class to help better understand what the test would cover,” junior Sierra Smith said. “Though the class taught test strategies that were good to know, I feel like $45 was too much money to ask for and almost four hours was too long.”

The class focused on how to raise scores on individual sections of the ACT. The English section mainly focused on learning what test-writers are looking for and how to approach different types of questions. The math portion taught the basic math and problem-solving skills. Reading focused on a student’s individual methods for doing better on it. Finally, because science is such a broad spectrum, the science portion taught what common question types were.

Though the class size was limited, the fee needed to be prepaid and the long class was not for everyone, students who wanted to improve their scores had a great opportunity to learn how to do so.

“I was really nervous to take it, but it went by faster than I expected it to,” junior Brooklyn Schaffer said. “The English part was the longest, but it wasn’t too bad.”
23mtaggart@usd489.com