April 2nd 2019,

Dear Honorable Joy Hofmeister,

Hello, I am Hailey Hamrick. I am a Northern Oklahoma College student who plans to transfer to
Oklahoma State in the fall. I have some concerns about the A.C.T. (American College Testing).
Most high school students participate in sporting events, social clubs, or work. They could have
gotten home at midnight then had to get up before eight to get to the exam. Students also work
and they could get home very late and have to get up early the following Saturday to take the
exam. According to Princeton review, the A.C.T. is a two hour and fifty-five minute test that for
majority of college bound students, it declares their destiny. It has four sections, English, Math,
Reading, and Science. I strongly believe that this test should not have such a high impact on our
futures. For example, you could test a student on math to see if they need put into calculus or
college algebra. I know what you are thinking, if my idea is to get rid of testing being such a
large portion of getting into college, then why make students take placement tests? A placement
test in a certain subject can guide the student in a positive direction of what level they should be
encouraged to take in that subject.

I personally did not have the best A.C.T. experience. I was senior class president and in NHS,
but without my diligent study habits, I would not have been able to attend most 4 year
universities with a 17 on the A.C.T. Although, I was able to get into my dream school because of
my grades. I know I am capable because I was in NHS and had good grades, although I still
struggled to get into a university. You should not be judged by one test. It should be judged on
how hard you worked in your last four years in high school. A placement test is a good idea
because you can view if the student excels in that certain area of that subject.

There were 1.9 million students who took the A.C.T. last year stated the A.C.T. national report.
The average Nationwide score for 2018 was 25.6. Although, in Oklahoma the average score was
19.3 according the average A.C.T. statistics. The cost of the ACT exam is $46.00. In Oklahoma,
most high schools are given the opportunity to take the A.C.T. at their school for free. There are
drawbacks to taking the A.C.T, for example, students who have to take a science portion won't
be motivated to take that section of the test because their future major is not in that field. They
will not have high interest and they will not care to get a good score on that section. In the math
portion, the levels vary but there are trigonometry questions and most high school students have
not taken trigonometry yet. Another disadvantage is it is a timed test. Many scientists have
proven that the average person can only concentrate for twenty minutes. There are advantages
such as there is no penalty for guessing. To conclude, we have various issues with Oklahoma’s
education, the A.C.T. is one of them. I hope you found this letter helpful in which ways we can
better our future.

Thank you for your time,

Hailey Hamrick
12109 N. 3990 RD.
Dewey, OK 74029
 Works Cited

“ACT FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about the ACT Exam, Registration Dates, and
Submitting Scores.” ​Testmasters,​
www.testmasters.com/act/faq​.

“ACT Timing Tricks.” ​The Princeton Review​,

www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/how-long-is-the-act​.

Overview of the ACT Math Section​,

www.studypoint.com/ed/act-math/​.

“U.S. - Average ACT Scores, by State 2018 | Statistic.” ​Statista​,

www.statista.com/statistics/305987/us-average-act-scores-by-state/​.