The acid test: area juniors prepare for Prairie State Achievement Test
All high school juniors in the State of Illinois will be taking the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE) on April 23 & 24.
This exam is an extremely important one and is necessary to earn a diploma anywhere in the State of Illinois. Results will be attached to their transcript, which is a permanent record. Colleges and employers will be able to review these scores when they receive a transcript for a student. All colleges will accept the ACT part of the PSAE for entrance requirements.
The last ACT test date for this school year is on June 14 and the registration deadline for that test is May 9th. For more information about the ACT or to register for the June test, go to www.act.org.
On Wednesday, April 23, juniors will take a full-length ACT test. The ACT measures five areas: English, math, reading, science reasoning, and writing.
On Thursday, April 24, juniors will take the Illinois Learning Standards as well as WorkKeys. The Learning Standards measure Developed Science. The WorkKeys measure two areas: applied mathematics and reading for information. The state reports an ACT score as well as a PSAE score. The PSAE score is a combination of all these tests. Students will receive their ACT scores by mail in June. The PSAE score will be distributed to students in late August at school.
All juniors at Du Quoin High School reviewed the tests during English, math, & science classes. DHS has also conducted an ACT prep course every Tuesday and Thursday evening for the past five weeks. All juniors were offered preparation booklets from ACT. These booklets have full-length tests. Students need to review practice tests, learn tips and strategies, and become familiar with the format and timing of the tests. These prep books can also be found online. Preparing for the ACT booklet can be downloaded at http://www.act.org/aap/pdf/preparing.pdf. Day 2 Overview & Preparation guide can be downloaded at http://www.isbe.net/assessment/pdfs/2013/psae/psae_prep_guide.pdf.
Students should take the test seriously and attempt to do their best. Students should bring several sharpened No. 2 pencils with good erasers and an approved calculator. They need to attend both days and get a good night's sleep each night. A free breakfast will be served each test day before 7:55 a.m. in the cafeteria. Studies show that students perform better if they have had breakfast. If students attend both days and exhibit good behavior with a sincere effort, they will receive a Sonic coupon. Questions can be directed to Carolyn Sorrows at 542-4744 ext 2166.