Sahara Pullen
Practice textbooks for the ACT that can be found in Wayne Levering's room.
Rogers Heritage High School is pulling out all the stops to help students succeed on the ACT, with intensive prep programs and personalized guidance designed to boost scores and confidence.
Teachers play a key role in identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses, offering strategies and resources tailored to individual needs. By embedding ACT prep into regular coursework and emphasizing its long-term benefits, the school ensures students are equipped to balance their test preparation with other commitments.
When asked about what software or apps the school would recommend for ACT prep, English teacher Alicia Schwartz said, “The biggest one is the online actprep.org, which is the one that the school purchases. That one is awesome because it is full of practice tests, and it also has practice-specific skills. So if you need to practice in, say, geometry, you can just practice that.”
Schwartz, a passionate advocate for ACT prep, recently discussed with her classes the tools the school recommends for ACT prep. She emphasized the value of actprep.org, a platform that the school provides to students. According to Schwartz, this online resource is particularly beneficial because it offers a wide range of practice tests that closely mirror the format of the actual exam. Additionally, actprep.org allows students to target specific areas of weakness by focusing on individual skills, ensuring they can tailor their study sessions to their needs.
When asked about what motivational support the school provides, English teacher Kim Shepard said, “Students on free and reduced lunch can get four Saturday ACTs paid for their junior and senior year. In the counseling office at the front desk, they have fee waivers, and it’s a credit card to get the free ACT, so take advantage of it.”
In addition to academic support, Heritage ensures financial barriers don’t stand in the way of students preparing for the ACT. Shepard highlighted that these waivers, available at the counseling office for students on free and reduced lunch, allow students to take the test without the added worry of financial burden, allowing them to gain valuable experience and improve their scores.
“The kids have had to do some things on their own, on their own time to kind of improve their ACT score. So that is part of the battle is realizing you’re going to have. It is going to have to take some effort. You’re not going to just walk in on the first day and get a perfect score,” said Shepard.