Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, juniors and seniors are struggling to complete their ACT tests. Last spring, many tests were canceled, leaving students worried about when they would be able to take the ACT.  This school year, the cancellation of tests has continued to be a stressor on juniors and seniors. Students are still preparing, but some in unique ways.

At the start of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, the ACT tests began shutting down, leaving students unable to take their tests. As this year’s school year approached, many students encountered the wave of cancelations again. After preparing for the grueling test, the news that it was canceled was upsetting for some students.

Junior Tate Keiser said he was “very disappointed when it was canceled because I felt like I was ready to take it, but no longer could.”

Students who are preparing for the ACT are having to go about their preparation in ways that may not be ideal. After being in online Zoom classes for their high school courses, some students are having to immediately log onto ACT tutor courses over a screen rather than face-to-face, making it more difficult to focus. 

“I have been taking ACT prep courses through a private tutoring place called Huntington,” junior Sydney Scheel said. “They are over a Zoom call and the tutors go through a book where we look at problems. It is kind of difficult to stay on the screen for two hours at a time after a full day of zoom classes and still be able to focus and take in what the tutors are saying.” 

The tests open right now are giving seniors priority over juniors, and the spots are filling up at an incredibly fast rate. That being said, juniors are struggling to find times throughout this school year to be able to take their tests.

Keiser said that it is hard to find a new test date because all of the seats are being taken for months ahead due to the restrictions on capacity.

Some students who have taken the test got to experience it through a mask. The health restrictions set forth by the FDA have allowed for tests across the state to run the same because in most cases, the students were already spread out to begin with.

 Senior Jake Ulrtich said regarding the test, “The setup was pretty similar to before. Everyone was spread out in the beginning, but with COVID they just made us wear masks.”

Due to the abundant amount of tests canceled or rescheduled, many colleges have become ACT test-optional, meaning that they do not require an ACT score during the application process. Many students are looking at this as a blessing in disguise, while a few handfuls of others are still submitting their scores.

“All of the colleges I applied to did not require a score to be submitted, but I still chose to share my score,” Ulrtich said.

The unpredictability of the pandemic has made many students hopeful that the test-optional colleges will remain that way for a longer period of time than expected. No one knows how long this may go on.

“I think that colleges will have to keep the test-optional for now because many students don’t have the opportunity to take the test before they must apply for college,” Kieser said.

The unpredictable times students are going through has impacted that of normal standardized testing. As students hold on to hope that their ACT will be able to be taken, they are still keeping up with preparations.

Keiser said that it is hard to find a new test date because all of the seats are being taken for months ahead due to the restrictions on capacity.