St. Michael-Albertville Juniors Prep for ACT

The has been making strides with students taking the ACT exam and posting high scores, and theis leading the way for more success this spring.

To assist juniors (and select sophomores who might choose to take the exam early), the high school will be offering a practice exam at 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

"Most of the research done by ACT indicates that the best way to prepare for the exam is to do well in core academic classes," said Megan Pettis, a counselor at the high school. "The English 11 classes work directly on the ACT prep."

It's part of a district-wide initiative to improve test scores.

"We're undertaking three major initiatives to continue to improve college readiness," Superintendent Jim Behle said when the 2011 results were released. "ACT college readiness standards will be aligned with STMA courses for a more rigorous curriclum. Second, all ninth grade studetns will be required to take physics, biology and chemistry as graduation requirements. Finally, the district will administore EXPLORE to eighth grade students, a pre-ACT test."

The ACT has scheduled an April 14 test, and there is an ACT test set for June 9. Cost is $34, $49.50 for the test and writing portion. Signup is at ACTStudent.org, and the high school's code is 242-209.

The guidance office is available for more information, Pettis said.