Juniors take ACT
Standardized testing continues despite pandemic
Juniors wait to enter the field house to take the ACT March 2. Many precautions were taken before and during the test to ensure a safer environment.
March 4, 2021
Preparing for large in-person events during a pandemic has entailed paying extra attention to detail, especially during the ACT, for test coordinator Jamie LaPray, this rang true as she proctored the ACT.
“I had a lot of concerns. My biggest one was that during the break, students wouldn’t be distancing themselves from each other as much as possible,” LaPray said.
The ACT was held March 2-3 for juniors. According to LaPray, testing took place in the socially-distanced gyms and hallways of the high school.
Junior Will Dooley felt somewhat uneasy about the setting of the ACT.
“It was a little uncomfortable being in a room with so many people,” Dooley said “But the test does require it and I understand that it was a necessary thing.”
Although LaPray felt content with how the test went, she wished certain things could have been changed.
“It went fine. There’s always things that could be done differently,” LaPray said. “The setup of the room made some people a long way from where the timer clock was projected, so a few students had a little difficulty seeing it from the very edges of the room.”
With the pandemic, students knew everything wasn’t going to be perfect, but they were satisfied with how Park handled it according to junior Andrew VanOverbeke.
“With COVID-19, they did just about as good as they could. Of the ones I’ve taken, I’ve felt safe with their mask and social-distancing policies,” VanOverbeke said.
LaPray said she was satisfied with the outcome of the socially-distanced ACT.
“I think that overall it went well,”LaPray said. “The students did a really good job of staying on task and focusing on the test for the entire time, and that was really nice to see.”
