Juniors, keep your eyes open for April 23, 2014. A new addition to KHS this year is the free ACT provided to the junior class this Spring. As junior year comes around, college preparation slowly starts to take over the mind’s of students. With this free ACT, students will be able to have more practice and a chance some students may have never had in the first place.

“It’s not just for students to be able to get into college,” Jeff Townsend, sophomore principal, said. “It’s also for the school to collect data in hopes that our test scores will eventually raise because we’re giving students that extra push.”

With the idea being tossed around KSD for two years, Townsend, who oversees the guidance department, took the initiative to organize the free ACT. It was a three-month process to organize, but Townsend said KSD quickly agreed.

According to Townsend, the school district will spend nearly $14,000 on providing the free ACT. However, if there are students who are unable to attend the scheduled testing day, there will be a makeup date May 7.

“We want to be able to give all students this opportunity,” Townsend said. “We’ll be able to see how it goes this year and if students take advantage of this. It will be something we can do every year.”

The free ACT, this April, will allow juniors to send their test scores to colleges. If students wish, they will be able to send their scores to the colleges they are interested in.

“I think it’s going to be a great opportunity and more practice for all of us,” Elise Bell, junior said. “People usually take it more than once so the more practice we have the better. The fact that it counts is just a bonus.”

The test will be given on a Wednesday during school starting at 9 am. The time of the test is similar to the nationwide test that’s held Saturday, April 12, 2014. According to Townsend, the location of the testing will hopefully be in the gymnasiums so students are isolated from the school and other students.

The test will not include the essay writing, which results to around $36 per test being paid by the school. KSD excluded the writing because it would $52.50 a person. KHS has estimated to have around 400 students take the test this spring, Townsend said.

Although the juniors will be the only ones who will get to do this, seniors, who are still taking the ACT, will miss out. As this becomes something KSD provides every year, juniors will be the only ones who are allowed to participate.

Even though college preparation is a long process, KHS is doing what they can to provide students with opportunities for all students, according to Townsend.

“It’s a sense of relief for those students whose families may have not been able to afford the test at all,” Townsend said. “It’s a chance for us and them to see what they are capable of post high school years.”

The perfect ACT game