The Mycenaean

The North Carolina Education system decided this fall to administer new tests to students under their guide. From now on, schools will require juniors to take the ACT and sophomores to take the PLAN assessment.

Scott Lyons announced the decision to parents and students in a phone message on Thursday, November 10.

According to a North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) powerpoint, eleventh-graders will face off against the ACT in March 6 and will be able to make it up on March 20. Employees will finish grading the majority of the tests by the end of April. Juniors will receive their scores at the beginning of the following school year.

“It’s gonna be a tough test, but I’ll be glad to get it over with,” said Teddy Elshof, junior. “It’s probably better to get it out of the way.”

The PLAN, separate from the ACT, is a pre-assessment to the ACT just like the PSAT is to the SAT.

In their Powerpoint, DPI announced the testing window for the PLAN assessment is scheduled to be from December 5-16 for all schools. Leesville decided to hold their session on December 6.

In Lyons’ phone message to students and parents, neither assessment will count as a grade or factor into the school’s profile. Both tests will be free for all students and can act as a college admission exam.

“I’ve been hearing rumors for a while about the gradual change from the SAT to the ACT,” said Elshof. “Hopefully, everything will go well and without any troubles.”

When the time comes, administrators will work together to change the daily schedule as needed.