The ACT was administered Tuesday, Mar. 1 for juniors at Northwood. The test began at the morning bell and concluded around 1 p.m. Students that were not testing did assignments from their teachers in an extended Plus 1. Most teachers limited Internet and headphone use and kept classes silent.
“I think it wastes the time of the students who aren’t testing,” freshman Harper Bone said. “They are distracted by sitting for so long and probably won’t get their work done.”
During and after the ACT, students were sent to lunch. Following the sophomores lunch, all students carried on with the rest of their day.
“[With] the PLAN and the PSAT in October, the test ended early enough that we could go to 3rd period and eat lunch,” testing coordinator Kim-Marie Hall said. “The ACT is much longer; we get out at 12:45; we can’t serve lunch then. We would be serving until three.”
The extended homeroom was used because, according to the North Carolina School System, students must be at school during testing hours. Many alternatives were discussed, but the extended Plus 1 was the easiest to manage and execute.
“In an ideal world, we could have done something useful with that time,” Hall said. “Asking you guys to sit and complete four hours of work is unrealistic.”
Study halls varied in effectiveness on the student body based on what teacher they had and who was in their class. Depending on what rules the instructor enforced, their workload when you got home may differ than that of their friend’s.
“I personally was listening to music; it wasn’t that great,” freshman Marcus Jackson said. “I just think we could have used that time to do more productive activities, like actually having class.”
Opinions and feelings about the extended Plus 1 clashed. Students showed negative responses because “It was a waste of time.” Hall provides light to the situation.
“Unfortunately, ACT says that you have to give it March first, and the only other time you can give it is on the makeup day, March 15th,” Hall said. “If we were given more autonomy, we could have done something more creative.”
– By Madison Clark
