Early spring means one thing in education: testing season.

More than 470 juniors are taking advantage of the free ACT test that is going to take place Tuesday, March 16.

Traditionally, freshmen and sophomores would attend assemblies on ACT day and seniors would take a field trip. That is not the case this year.

Health and safety guidelines prevent the traditional activities for 9th, 10th, and 12th grades students from taking place, Julia Welker, testing coordinator, said.

Classrooms that freshmen, sophomores and seniors use on regular school days will be used to effectively distance the test-taking juniors.

“We want to provide the safest possible environment for our students,” Principal Dr. Steve Hankins said. “If we use all of our classrooms and divide up kids, we can now get about 8-10 kids per classroom.

Juniors have three options on the ACT day: they can come to school and take the test, get a test voucher and take the ACT on a later date or not take the test at all.

Juniors who do not take the test on March 16 will remain virtual along with the freshmen, sophomores and seniors. Virtual school starts at 12:45 p.m. and ends at 2:45 p.m. 

Jocelyn Fretwell, language arts teacher, said this day will be beneficial to both teachers and students.

“We are used to having virtual days now, so I think it makes sense for the other grade levels to still have class – even if it is a mixed-level class,” Fretwell said. “You can still do something fun with your students to get to know them better as we haven’t had as many opportunities to do this.”

Anna Marren, junior, said not having the other grades at school the day she takes the ACT won’t affect her performance too much.

“But it probably will be a little quieter which is nice,” she said.

Rohan Devraj, sophomore, supports the administration’s decision to keep juniors in school and all other students virtual.

“I think it’s a good idea because it will help the juniors focus on the ACT, which is a very important exam that determines a lot for them,” Devraj said.