Schools

Special Report: Easing Through the ACT Exam

Test coach has tips for students taking Saturday's nail-biting college-entrance test.

On Saturday high school juniors in Evanston and across the country will face a standardized test that many have come to fear.

They will sit down armed with a No. 2 pencil for the annual ritual of taking the ACT, a college-entrance exam that has been around since the late 1950s. Students are quizzed on their English, math, reading and science skills.

About 1.6 million, or 47 percent, of the U.S. high school students who graduated in 2010 took the test during the course of getting their diploma and applying for college, ACT Inc. reported. A good score can be pivotal to being accepted into their desired school. This is where local resident Jan Caron comes in.

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"If they get the score they're happy with, I won't see them again," said Caron, an ACT tutor for those living in the North Shore area. The exam coach said she works with 40 to 50 students each year.

Getting some coaching 

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Four years ago, William Beaudoin was one of Caron's students. He took his first ACT test as a junior at , just like so many will do Saturday.

The ACT tally is the average of a composite score comprising the English, math, reading and science portions of the college admission exam. The final number on the 215-question quiz can range from a low of one to a perfect score of 36.

"I got a 21," Beaudoin recalled about the result of his first ACT exam. "I wanted a 24 to 25."

So his parents hired Caron to help. "We met once a week for probably around a month," Beaudoin said. "She would give me hints and little tricks."

That practice paid off. "She helped me raise my score three points," said the current University of Missouri sophomore. "I finished with a 24."

The improved score is about three points higher than the national average on the ACT exam, Caron said.

According to a report by Township High School District 113,  98 percent of the Class of 2011 at DHS took the quiz and the school recorded an average score of 26.4 in 2010. The 441 ACT takers far surpassed the 36 who took the SAT during the 2009 school year at DHS, whose district also includes Highland Park High School.

Tricks of the trade 

As students prepare for the standardized test Saturday, what are some of the things they should keep in mind?

"The ACT is really about reading carefully and thinking about the material," Caron said. "I see students who do extremely well in school and are devastated by how they do on the ACT."

Not only has Caron studied the exam for years, but she graduated from Deerfield High School. So she knows where the students are coming from and what is the focus of test-makers.

"The ACT is designed so you haven't seen the material," she said. "They're looking for what you can do with new material."

That advice was exactly the kind of mentoring Beaudoin said he needed to increase his score.

"The ACT is really written to make the answer seem less obvious, but her hints made the answer stand out," he said in remembering some of the technics. One hint he recalled was "if one of the answers is all of the above, that's usually the answer."

Beaudoin's approach for doing well in the exam is similar to a slew of students at DHS and elsewhere who turn to tutors like Caron for help, but the outside counseling doesn't come cheap.

Affordable advice 

Caron acknowledges that not everyone can afford the average $100-an-hour price tag for services. Emphasizing that "students need to prepare somehow," she said there are notable alternatives for those with limited funds. 

Caron suggests buying a practice exam book, going through online samples at ACT's website or signing up for a high school review class. Local libraries may also stock the practice book on their shelves.

Caron offers some crucial advice for students to keep in mind come Saturday: "The most important thing to know is that the ACT is not the critical factor to getting into college. Transcripts are the main thing schools are looking for; the ACT gives them another piece of information."

Caron believes if there is a will, there is a way.

"If students do their search correctly, they should get into most schools they apply to," she said.

Editor's note: Evanston Patch is offering useful insights on navigating the college application process. This is the first of a three-part education series during the week. Our series continues Wednesday.


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