The ACT is something that most Larned High School students will take. There are many times and opportunities throughout the year for students to take the ACT. However, for many students, the ACT isn’t just another standardized test, but a door to many future opportunities. This is why many students stress over preparing themselves for the ACT. Even though the ACT is a harsh reality of life, stressing over it isn’t always necessary.

Sometimes, asking your guidance and career counselors for help is the best thing to do. After all, they are there to help point students in the right direction. Dr. Wasinger, the LHS college and career counselor, told us how she thinks students can help prepare themselves for the ACT. 

Wasinger stated, “…there’s no amount of studying you can do that’s going to make yourself better prepared than what you’re doing in the classroom. So the biggest things to do to prepare for the ACT is to make sure that you are taking rigorous classes, like the higher level math and science classes, making sure that you’re really engaged in your core classes, and utilizing that information to review so that when you go in, you feel confident answering those questions.” 

The LHS offers many upper-level classes that students may take if they are looking to challenge themselves. Mrs. Smith, one of the LHS guidance counselors, stated what she thinks students should do to prepare for the ACT. “They can do their best in the day-to-day classes. Because, essentially, those classes are built to prepare you for those types of tests. If you pay attention and learn the concepts and do your homework, you generally already have the information you’re gonna need without having to cram.” The common theme between these two statements is that the school provides students with the tools that they need to succeed on tests like the ACT.

While LHS does do a lot to help students succeed on their standardized tests, there are always ways to improve. LHS junior, Jocelyn Clawson, stated that she thinks LHS can offer ACT prep workshops. The general nature of these workshops is to familiarize students with the ACT and provide students with helpful knowledge of how to take their test and have better chances of success.

There are several scheduled dates throughout the year for students to take their ACT. This year’s upcoming national dates for the ACT are April 15th, June 10th, and July 15th. LHS also has dates that it schedules for juniors to take the ACT during the school day. The next upcoming date for this is March 28th. Students still have plenty of time to prepare for the ACT, but waiting until the last minute is not advised.