After a long week of nerves swirling in everyone’s body, relaxation dives inside students after taking the ACT. Many have feared this test for days, months, and even years. The ACT is the base ground for college applications, and for many, the most important test of their life. Students face their academic levels with this test, testing the knowledge that they’ve acquired all their lives. Olivia Brackett (12), is one of the many students who took the exam. She explains how the subjects affected her, and her confidence levels with them.

“Science was the hardest subject for me because of all the different charts, graphs, and tables. It got confusing,” Brackett said. 

She enjoyed taking the reading portion of the exam though since it is her favorite subject at school. She comprehends the subject well, so it left her feeling confident in her answers.

Tricia Henley (12), drops her shoulders with relief after the exam. With the pressure of her parent’s anticipation of a good score, she studies consistently for the exam. 

“Something that distracted me during the test was the time. It was so pressuring.” Henley said. 

She would constantly look at the clock, checking if she was managing her time well. She comprehended the majority of the test, especially the reading portion.

“It was a little stressful since I knew how the ACT would go, but I didn’t think it was easier,” Henley said.

Because of this, she would like to take the ACT again to get a better score. Kayleigh Perry (12) has taken the exam twice. On her second attempt, she believes the exam was easier.

“The exam ended up being less stressful than I anticipated, just because I have worked myself up so hard about it,” Perry said. 

She encountered easy and difficult questions, somewhere she had to take a lucky guess.

“The most recent time I took it, the hardest subject was the reading portion. The passages were harder to focus on, so it kept me busy. But this time, the science portion was a lot easier for me,” Perry said. 

Taking the ACT multiple times has led to Perry’s decision to not take the exam again. Now that she has had the pressure of the exam removed from her shoulders, she is confident her score will return amazingly. 

The ACT is one of the most important tests in the country. Students spend their entire lives in school, preparing for the test that will determine their academic level in school. The students that have taken the test have finally released the internal stress they held, now starting a new anxiety: their scores. The students who participated in taking the exam will use the score for future college applications, determining many of the students’ futures.