By: Cate Eberly

At Bellbrook High School, ACT Day is more than just a test date. It is a day to prepare students for both college and future careers. Each grade level participates in various activities designed to help them better understand their strengths, interests, and next steps after high school.

To prepare juniors for the ACT, BHS has been offering free ACT prep classes every Sunday. Students were divided into two groups that alternated focus areas each week. One group concentrated on English and Reading, practicing grammar rules, pacing strategies, and comprehension skills. The other group reviewed Math and Science concepts, working on formulas, problem-solving strategies, and interpreting graphs and data.

The prep sessions have lasted several weeks and served as a focused review before test day. BHS junior Ashelyn Barrios thinks the ACT prep sessions have helped to “highlight my areas I need to focus on studying before test day,” Barrios said. 

Seniors utilize the ACT day to gain real-world experience. Seniors can choose to job shadow in a potential career field or complete community service hours. Senior Aly Tungol plans to shadow an engineer working with the F-15 group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. 

Experiences like this allow students to observe professional environments and better understand what a future career might look like before committing to college or specialized training. “I’m excited to see a potential career field for myself,” Tungol said. “It is nice to get first hand experience before committing four years towards studying to prepare for that line of work.”

For freshmen, ACT Day is focused on exploration. They complete a career field survey that asks questions about their personalities, interests, and preferred work environments. This helps freshmen establish a baseline before choosing courses for next year, allowing them to make more informed decisions about their academic path.

Sophomores take the PreACT to determine their own academic baseline. This practice test helps them identify strengths and areas for improvement before beginning official ACT preparation next year.