ACT required at Monona Grove

Gena Kittner:

College-bound or not, all juniors at Monona Grove High School will spend more than four hours this spring filling in tiny bubbles as part of a mandatory ACT test.

District administrators say the school will be the first in the state to administer the college preparatory test to all juniors, and will foot the $11,000 bill.

Although not a novel idea -- five states require the test of all juniors -- the idea of using the ACT to better judge proficiency in areas such as reading, math and science appeals to other area districts.

"All students need to have college-readiness skills in areas like reading and math no matter what they plan to do after high school, " said Bill Breisch, curriculum director for Monona Grove School District. "Graduating with college-readiness skills is no longer just for some of our high school students. "

By requiring the test of juniors, the district is also offering college-bound students a year to get on track if their scores show them weak in a certain area, Breisch said. That way, seniors aren 't blindsided when they take the ACT and find out they have to take remedial math in college, he said.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 7, 2008 5:52 AM
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