Video: ACT Prep Class Proves To Be Successful At Amory High

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AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – The majority of colleges require either the ACT or SAT before admitting students into the school.
But how to you effectively study and prepare for such a big test and one that determines so much about your future?
A local high school is taking steps to make sure their students are ready for the ACT as part of a mandatory class added this year.

“I thought it was real important for our kids to take the class because that is the determining factor of where they go to college,” said Amory High School Principal, Ken Byars.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Quality Education Foundation, one of the oldest support systems for Amory Schools,  high school students are getting ahead of the game when it comes to the ACT.

Beginning this school year, every student, including some seniors, are now enrolled in a credited ACT prep class.

“The main goal this year is to get exposure to questions and we’re looking to improve every year with this,” added Byars.

The students spend 2 weeks in each tested subject area.

They work with practice tests and reading passages, all while being timed, just like the ACT.

“For a lot of our kids, this is something completely different. None of the state tests, until this year, have been timed, so when you tell them that you have 35 minutes to answer 40 questions, they freak out. So that’s something we’ve had to work with and teach them pace and timing and get them to calm down and they can answer 40 questions in 35 minutes,” said 11th grade teacher, Masha Laney.

For students who have already put their practice skills to the test, they have already seen improvements.

“This class, they have really helped me because the 2nd time I took the ACT, I went up 3 points and I went up 9 points just on the English section,” said Junior, Leigh Ellen Noe.

“The first time I took it, I was kind of nervous about it because I hadn’t really had much practice on it, the 2nd time I took it, I came out being confident about it,” said Junior, Clayton Dickerson.

Educators say they look forward to implementing the class again next year.

Categories: Local News

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