Students get chance for free ACT tests

 Bigfork and Whitefish High School juniors sharpened their No. 2 pencils Tuesday to take the ACT Plus Writing college readiness exam for free.

Normally, the cost for the ACT with the optional writing test is $49.50.

This year juniors at Bigfork and Whitefish — along with 49 other high schools — took the exam at no cost as part of a seven-year pilot program organized by the Office of Public Instruction and Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education’s Montana Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program.

In 2011, the office of the Commissioner of Higher Education was awarded a seven-year, $28 million GEAR UP grant, a portion of which will cover the cost of every public high school junior in Montana having access to the ACT Plus Writing test.

“Providing the ACT to every junior will give us a complete picture of how well our K-12 public education system is preparing all students for life after high school and allow every Montana junior the opportunity to assess their college-readiness,” said Office of Public Instruction Superintendent Denise Juneau.

For some students, taking the ACT makes them aware of their potential. This is key to why Bigfork applied for the grant said guidance counselor Christian Nadeau. Eighty-nine Whitefish juniors and 46 Bigfork juniors took the exam Tuesday.

“Providing access to the test opens so many doors for kids,” Nadeau said. “They may realize they actually have more options after high school because of their score.”

Nadeau said some barriers to taking the ACT might be the process of registering for the test, paying the fee and driving to a testing site on a Saturday morning. Benefits of participating in the pilot program are that testing occurs on a school day and the fee is waived, Whitefish guidance counselor Barb Mansfield said.

While some colleges or technical programs may not require ACT scores, Nadeau said there are many scholarships that do. Scores also show what areas, or classes, juniors need to improve on during their senior year to prepare for college.

A make-up day for students who missed Tuesday’s exam is May 8.

Other states have implemented statewide ACT testing for every junior, including Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota and Illinois.

Over time, states have found that more males, minority students, middle and lower-income students and first-generation students took the ACT and had the ability to assess their college-readiness and enroll in college.

 Among Montana’s 2011 high school graduates, 60 percent — a total of 6,037 students — took the ACT.

As part of her Graduation Matters Montana initiative, during the 2011 legislative session, Juneau proposed allowing all high school juniors to take the ACT test by removing the testing fees students have to pay to participate.