On April 19th, juniors will be taking the ACT here at LCHS. Last year the juniors had to sign up to take the ACT on a Saturday, and they  had to travel to another school that was holding the ACT that specific saturday.

This year the school has decided to have the ACT here and during school hours.

“ The state of Tennessee has now included ACT participation rates as part of every high school’s evaluation.  In other words, a certain percentage of our juniors have to take the ACT test prior to graduating or the school is affected negatively with regards to our evaluation.  The number for participation that we have to meet is 95%,” Mr.Orr said.

The school’s specific goals are to increase the percentage of students who meet the ACT benchmark score in all of the areas (English, math, reading, and science).

The benchmark scores that they want the students to be at are: 18 in English, 22 in math, 22 in reading, and 23 in science.

The freshmen and sophomores will be taking a practice ACT test on the 19th. The school will then take those tests and grade them here in order to determine student’s needed areas for growth.  This will give the students and teachers one to two years to address these areas.

All students will be testing beginning in the morning and ending around lunch time.  The times for the tests are determined by ACT.  There are still some things that need to be addressed regarding the schedule.  An agenda for a senior meeting is being developed.
The ACT is an important test and I feel as though this method that they are doing this year is going to make it easier to make improvements where they are needed.