ACT General Info

1. ACT General Info

2. Why go to college?? • Whether you are uncertain about going to college or you just need some reassurance you're on the right track, here are a few reasons to go to college: • Every bit of education you get after high school increases the chances you'll earn good pay. Most college graduates earn more money during their working years than people who stop their education at high school earn. • The more education you get the more likely it is you will always have a job. According to one estimate, by the year 2028 there will be 19 million more jobs for educated workers than there are qualified people to fill them. • Continuing education after high school is much more important for your generation than it was for your parents' generation. Today most good jobs require more than a high school diploma. Businesses want to hire people who know how to think and solve problems. • Education beyond high school gives you a lot of other benefits, including meeting new people, taking part in new opportunities to explore your interests, and experiencing success.

3. Average yearly income by educational attainment • Professional degree $119,009 • Doctoral degree $92,863 • Master's degree $67,898 • Bachelor's degree $54,689 • Associate's degree $37,990 • Some college $31,421 • High school graduate $29,448 • High school dropout $19,915 • Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 data

4. Choosing a College Major?

5. About the Test • The ACT test is primarily a multiple choice test, with the added optional essay (if the writing test is taken). • There are 215 multiple choice questions on the test, and the test takes approximately three and a half hours to complete, including any breaks. If the writing test is also taken, the total length of the ACT test is four hours, including breaks. • The English section of the exam consists of 75 multiple choice questions, and students have 45 minutes to complete this section. The English section consists of five prose passages, each with accompanying multiple choice questions. • The test covers conventions of standard written English, such as punctuation (13%), grammar and usage (16%), and sentence structure (24%), and rhetorical skills, such as strategy (16%), organization (15%), and style (16%).

6. COST • ACT – No Writing = $32.00 • ACT – Writing = $47.00

7. How Soon Scores Are Ready • Most scores are available online within 2 ½ weeks after each national or international test date. Your scores are not reported any faster if you view them online. Score reports are usually mailed to your home within 3 to 8 weeks after each test date. If you took the Writing Test, your score report will be mailed only after your Writing scores are available, normally 2 weeks after your multiple-choice scores (within 5 to 8 weeks after the test date). • Please note: • ACT keeps all of your test information confidential! We cannot give scores to anyone by phone, email, or fax. • Once you know your scores • You may want to order another copy for yourself or send them to more colleges or scholarship agencies. • We have a separate record for each test date. ACT does not create new records by averaging scores from different test dates. If you ask us to send a report to a college, we will release only the record for the test date you choose.

8. You will be dismissed and your answer document will not be scored if you are found: • Filling in or altering ovals on a test or continuing to write the essay after time has been called on that test • Looking back at a test on which time has already been called • Looking ahead in the test booklet • Looking at another examinee's test booklet or answer document • Giving or receiving assistance • Using a prohibited calculator • Using a calculator on any test other than the Mathematics Test • Sharing a calculator with another examinee • Using any device to share or exchange information at any time during the tests or during breaks (all electronic devices, including cell phones, must be turned off from the time you are admitted to test until you are dismissed after testing concludes) • Attempting to remove test materials, including test questions or answers, from the test room by any means • Using highlight pens, colored pens or pencils, scratch paper, notes, dictionaries, or other aids • Not following instructions or abiding by the rules of the test center • Exhibiting confrontational, threatening, or unruly behavior • Creating a disturbance or allowing an alarm or phone to sound in the test room

9. Last year… • Thirty seniors took the ACT test • Thirteen of them took it at least twice • The average score was about a 21