This Saturday, students will be taking the ACT, showcasing what they know and putting all their hard work to the test, literally. The ACT is a standardized exam that measures academic skills that are crucial for college. Students like junior Vanessa Guvele have realized the importance of studying in preparation for the ACT.

“I take practice tests from books that you can find in stores and that’s basically it, but you can probably find stuff online too,” Guvele said. “I use the ACT Prep Book and note cards sometimes.”

Plenty of the students taking the ACT have used the ACT Prep book as their main studying tool.

For a lot of the students, this won’t be their first time taking the ACT. Many who took the test for the first time didn’t study much for it and are hoping to get a higher score this time around. Furthermore, students who previously took the test know what areas of the test they need to work on and have focused specifically on those subjects in they’re studying.

“I checked out an ACT Prep Book and was just reviewing the science section,” senior Cherokee Hayden said.

With all the hard work and dedication, it’s no wonder that the Manhattan High School ACT composite score has continued to exceed the state and national averages. Both the state and national averages are 21.0. This year, the MHS composite score was 23.7, and last year, the MHS composite score was 23.1.

“Typically we’re higher than the state and national average so that doesn’t really surprise me. I was really, really pleased that our composite went up by .6; that’s huge,” Greg Hoyt, MHS principal, said. “In part these results indicate that, even in the most difficult financial and political climate surrounding education in recent memory, our students exhibit preparedness for college and career readiness in record numbers.”

Traditionally, Manhattan High has about 38 percent of the students who meet the college readiness benchmarks in all four assessed areas. However, last year, 44 percent of the students met the criteria, a significant 6 percent increase from the usual.

“Being in the backyard of a major university we have a lot of students that come from families that are associated with a university setting and an academic family and that’s what they’re family grows up to so that helps out tremendously,” Hoyt said. “You know, we’ve got an excellent educational system in 383 and that’s from kindergarten all the way through graduating seniors in high school and all of that plays a role; it’s just significant. I think it’s critical that we continue to examine our curricular offerings and making sure that students are challenged in each and every class, whatever they’re taking, so the more students that we can get into rigorous courses and the more that we can get teachers to ramp up the rigor in each one of their classrooms, that’s the way that we sustain.”

For those taking the ACT this upcoming Saturday, Hoyt had some advice.

“Trust yourself,” Hoyt said. “Get plenty of rest, have faith and confidence in what you’re ability is, don’t doubt yourself, manage your time and make sure you answer every question, there’s no penalty for being wrong.”