Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

COUNSELOR'S DESK

by Donald Crane

This article should be of special interest to this year's junior class.

It concerns the ACTAP (Arkansas Comprehensive Testing and Assessment Program). ACTAP is the proficiency examination which determines whether or not a student graduates from high school. Statewide, Arkansas students did not do well on the test, but the word I hear is that it will not be modified to any great degree.

The ACTAP was supposed to have been in effect for the seniors of 1997. Apparently, it will become effective for the seniors of 1998 instead.

It is scheduled for our juniors on November 11-14. It is a requirement for all juniors, so juniors and their parents should check their calendars now to avoid planning anything for those dates.

Juniors who do not pass the ACTAP this fall will have another opportunity to re-take the examination on April 21-24, 1997. Any junior who does not pass that one will have the chance to take it again the fall of their senior year and again in the spring.

This means that a student will have the opportunity to take the ACTAP at least four times, if necessary. If the state of Arkansas is serious, this means that every high school senior must pass the ACTAP to receive a diploma.

There will also be remediation between the tests which could involve summer school.

The ACTAP consists of two main parts, mathematics and literacy. Literacy is broken down into reading and writing. The score reports show three levels of competency: (1) Meeting/Exceeding Standards, (2) Approaching Standard, and (3) Below Standard. It is not an easy test.

Preparation for the ACTAP is the same as for the Stanford-9 or any other achievement test -- just getting serious about what is going on in the classroom. Of course, the more of the high level classes a student takes, the better off he will be at test time.

Recently, I received information on a new scholarship. The Principal's Leadership Award is an academic and activity based scholarship. It is for $1,000 and application is limited to the top 20 percent of the senior class. The school may send only one entry. Selection of a school winner will be based on a written composition which is part of the application process. The deadline to apply is December 2.

Sophomores who have demonstrated leadership may be interested in applying for the Hugh O'Brian Leadership Seminar. The seminar lasts two or three days and is usually held in the spring at Little Rock.

Once again, only one applicant may be sent from PHS. Selection for this is based on a written response to three questions asked on the application. The deadline is November 1.