Beginning next school year, KHS administrators hope to offer the ACT test to all juniors free of cost during the regular school day. Currently, to take the test on a Saturday costs $34-$49.50 per student. Sending scores to colleges could add an additional $20-$70.

“[Taking the test] would give the student a really good look at what kind of score they are starting with so they could explore ACT prep options to be prepared for applying to schools,” Abby Peterson, college and career counselor, said. “Hopefully [their test scores] will give them a realistic view of where they need to be according to what school they want to apply to.”

According to Dr. Michael Havener, principal, this change has not been made official because it is still in the request stage, meaning it still has to be accepted by the ACT organization, central office, superintendent and ultimately decided by the KSD school board.

Havener said the ACT organization’s main concern is the population of KHS, currently just over 1,700 students, is too small for their current minimum of 2,000 students.

“[The KHS administration] is trying to lift the regulation in order to provide the opportunity to pay for the test. The ACT has to approve us first and they have not done that yet, so we can’t pursue our next move,” Havener said.

According to Havener, the cost to get the test administered to all juniors as well as to send the reports of the scores would be approximately $18,000. The school district would have to allocate and find resources to pay for the test, possibly by saving in other areas, finding additional money or by tapping into KSD savings.

“I think there will definitely be more students willing to take the test because before they couldn’t afford it and it was taking up their free time,” Sally Thompson, junior, said. “With these possible changes it would be a good opportunity for those who couldn’t take it before to take it now and explore their options for the future.”

Although taking the test would not be a requirement, Havener and Peterson said KHS would encourage all students to take it and send their scores to KHS to keep on record and send to colleges.

“It would be an awesome service to be able to provide that for our students and without a shadow of a doubt would be a big benefit for them,“ Peterson said.

Currently, KHS ACT scores rank among the top high schools in the St. Louis area, averaging 24.7 compared to the Missouri average of 21.6 and the national average of 21.1. According to Havener, with more students taking the test and scores going up, it could improve how colleges and the rest of the country looks at Kirkwood and the education of the students.

“Hopefully, it will give everyone equal and multiple opportunities to take the ACT in a comfortable environment and on a regular scheduled day, it will allow parents the ability to know their child is going to take the test at KHS and it will let us promote the day, give test tips and show how we are doing preparing our students for their future,” Havener said.