As the 2020-21 school year continues on as normal as possible, the freshmen and sophomore classes at De Soto High School took the annual Pre-ACT test over the course of Nov. 2 to5. 

The Pre-ACT is a multiple-choice test containing four sections: Math, Science, Reading and English. The Pre-ACT test replicates the actual ACT test and is given to freshmen and sophomores to familiarize students with the test before they take it, most likely, their junior and senior years. 

Sarah Blanck, a freshman at DHS, stated that she had mixed feelings about the test. 

“I felt kind of nervous taking the Pre-ACT test. I was a little scared to take it because I didn’t know anything about the Pre-ACT,” Blanck said. 

When students come out of middle school, most are inexperienced with timed tests. 

“It [the Pre-ACT] had stressed me out a little because I have never done a time test before. I am a perfectionist, so not knowing what some of the questions meant was kind of weird,” Blanck said. 

In addition to the freshman class taking the Pre-ACT for the first time, the sophomore class took it at the same time for the second year in a row. 

“Last year I was in a classroom with fewer people, and this year they had my group go in the Union and there were a ton of people in there,” sophomore Olivia Dondzilla said. 

The ACT is a timed test that is over three hours long. When taking the Pre-ACT, the proctor of the test will set a clock out for students to look at while taking the test to see how much time they have left on a particular section. Dondzilla stated that she had liked testing more last year than this year because of her seat during the test. 

“I liked last year’s testing better because in the smaller classrooms I could see the clock. [This year] I was all the way in the back, so I never knew what time it was,” Dondzilla said. 

This year while taking the test, the high school is under many precautionary protocols, as well as many other schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Social distancing didn’t really bother me when I was testing. Wearing a mask bothered me because it was just another thing going on instead of just focusing on the test,” Dondzilla said. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused some high schools to be in a hybrid mode which means the students are partially online. 

“I think COVID has made me forget some things because we only have each class once a week so I feel like I would have been more prepared if we have more class time,” Blanck stated. 

After the test was finished, Blanck stated that the test was interesting and hoped she received a good score.