We use Skyward. I just looked and there is no reports section, or anywhere else it might be. So annoying.
This is where I ended up. A reminder that this was 6 years ago. But at that time, I was told the same thing you were from ACT. Also like you not on my first call (I hate ACT and College Board, but that’s another story for another day). The first couple calls they gave me other things to do, merging accounts, etc. Nothing worked. Eventually I got someone who told me that I couldn’t see them online at all, it wasn’t possible. I needed to contact my school. He couldn’t look up my kid’s school specifically, but said that 99%+ of the time the school has scores back within 3 weeks.
Ultimately the resolution was that the only way to see them was for me to get it directly from the school. Maybe they don’t have paper anymore, but I can’t imagine they don’t get an electronic version then.
Our state uses ACT as our state assessment test. So our school is very on top of that. The PreACT is required for sophs. They hand out the reports in homeroom and go over them. They want the kids to make sure that they figure out what they did wrong, so as Juniors they do better on the regular ACT to make the school look better.
Yes I just heard back from the guidance counselor and apparently they did receive paper copies and will be handing them out. It is optional at our state and I don’t think a ton of 9th and 10th graders take it.
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It sounds like the competence we have in our guidance office.
D21 was told that she could not apply EA to more than one school, among other nuggets of wisdom she received. More than once I’ve had to enlighten them about college admissions. I saw that on their senior class presentation this fall they still said if you want to go to a selective college you may need to take SAT Subject tests. They were discontinued 2 cycles ago.
They were the ones who made the decision to NOT hand out PreACT tests before school was out (we take it in April) but to wait until fall so they could go over the reports with S19’s class. Fortunately they don’t work over the summer, and I found a sympathetic administrator who liberated a copy of my son’s report from the guidance office while they were gone.
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I think 8 classes is pretty standard in our state as that is what I had back in the 90’s as well at a different high school.
I’m not sure how long the in-school day is but, my D leaves for the bus around 6:15 and I’m usually picking her up after sports/clubs around 5:45–so almost a 12 hour day overall. Classes are 57 minutes with around 30 minutes for lunch.
Finalizing her schedule for next year now:
AP English Language
Latin III-Honors
AP Calculus AB
AP Physics 1
AP United States History
AP Psychology
Principles of Engineering-Honors
Personal Finance (Semester)/Health 3 (Semester)
I think that schedule is crazy but she insists each teacher recommended that she take AP but, I wonder if they talk amongst themselves and realize they are recommending 5 AP classes. I wished the counselor got involved but, she seems pretty aloof.
That’s not a bad thing, the only email address my D remembered last year was my WORK email. I have been getting blown up all year. SMH
That sounds pretty rough. I would think there would be several hours of homework almost every night with that schedule, that’s 7 hard classes plus one that may have random busywork.
I would encourage her (or you if she won’t and gives you permission) to reach out to the counselor, and at least ask if this is normal. My guess is that there is a big lack of coordination going on, and that this schedule is going to have her running hard from 6:00 am to midnight every night trying to not fall too far behind. And I guess if they don’t watch this closely, that every year a few kids end up in the same boat, and end up dropping down in a couple classes at quarter or semester to try to salvage their GPA.
Every school is different. But even if the school signed off on it, I don’t think it is physically possible to do that here and still do the work for A’s, even if you drop all of your extra curricular activities.
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I had 8 classes each day in high school. This allowed me to take four years of German, two years of drama (all that was offered), and then after I ran out of drama classes two years of Latin, all alongside doubling up on science or history my last three years.
D25 has 6 classes each day, and is also taking both orchestra and a foreign language. They’d like to take a second language, but it’s impossible to do so and still meet state graduation requirements with so few classes.
Which is to say that I lean toward seeing the advantages of more classes rather than fewer each day. (Of course, what I’d most like to see schedulewise is something more college-like, but that’s unlikely to be unless D25 goes the all-DE-all-day route my D23 went with.)
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Mine couldn’t take science this year because lab sciences take up one period 5 days a week and an extra period every other day for lab. He didn’t want to give up band or JROTC. The dumb foundations of communications and technology quarter long class requirement for 10th graders took the extra period he needed. Luckily he took both Biology and Advanced Chem freshmen year!
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My D got her PSAT score today and I’m pleasantly surprised by the score. It’s in the percentile range saying that she’s college ready which is great for a kid who isn’t particularly academic and didn’t study at all. This really could be the confidence boost she needs for preparation for future tests. She thought it was an intelligence test but hopefully we squashed that thought.
On another note, I think we’ve found a college counselor. I wasn’t going to look for one since my D will not be aiming for very selective schools. A family friend has a new startup. His full time job is college adjacent and he travels constantly all over the country to different colleges. He’s mentored lots of freshman in college and is expanding to underserved high schools especially first gen, LGBTQ+, and minorities. His guidance is so needed with how complex getting to college and being able to stay all 4 years. I think my D would open up to him and listen to the responses better than her embarrassing parents. Now that we have the first set of scores and after the end of the marking period I plan to reach out to him. Do you think it’s too early?
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Congrats on the PSAT performance - while what the test measures may be questionable, I hope it turns out to be a confidence booster.
I think a college counselor can help her at this stage by identifying what she likes and dislikes regarding courses and interests. Should she take more challenging courses in particular subjects next year? What are two or three areas she may want to study in college? Are her interests broad (liberal arts) or narrow (engineering, nursing)? College selection can come later once interests and courses are solidified.
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Glad the PSAT went well for your daughter! I think a college counselor is a great option to start laying some ground work and thinking about options. And of course it comes better from anyone other than a parent! Let us know how it goes for her.
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I love that my kids get to take 8 courses. My daughter is taking lots of art and design electives. Her brother focused on the arts but also doubled up on sciences from sophomore year on. But less of a workload than an AP heavy school, maybe. They are at an Independent school that doesn’t offer APs.
I was curious to see how that would pan out. My son has been in college Spanish and chemistry classes with AP taught classmates. So far, so good. His chemistry background has been much broader than his classmates, better he thinks. That was surprising to me. His high-school bio classes were actually much more narrowly focused, on cell, molecular and genetics mostly. Spanish has been interesting. Most of his classmates have little experience with conversation. Lots of knowledge of verb conjugations though. My current high schooler has a French final exam tomorrow which is mostly oral. I don’t remember that from high school.
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Thank goodness the semester is over. What a roller coaster. S25 somehow went from failing English earlier in the semester due to not turning things in (thanks, ADHD!) to getting straight A’s for the semester. I’m not sure what kind of witchcraft was involved, but I’ll take it. I picked him up from his last final this morning, and he seems relieved and proud of how well he did. He’s out having sushi with friends to celebrate now, and then I’m sure we will have a few weeks of well-earned slothing around to recover from the Hail Mary he pulled.
Congrats to the kids (and parents!) for making it to the end of the semester. Happy Holidays!
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Happy end of semester! I think my kid is going to end up with one B (in AP) and the rest As, but we shall see.
The poor kids are already talking about next year’s schedule. So then D25 realized that her favorite language class conflicts with her easy elective. Gotta figure that out and would hate for her to have to give up the easy elective!
Anyone doing anything fun this break?
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This happened to D23 with Spanish 3 and Art. Art makes her happy so we let her take Art and she decided to take Spanish 3 this year (senior year) instead. She’s been accepted everywhere she’s applied so far and it hasn’t seemed to be an issue at all.
S25 managed all As this semester so he’s doing well, PSAT not as high as he hoped but I imagine he’ll study for the SAT 
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Thanks! Funny, it is also a language (Mandarin 3). These advanced language classes are only offered one period and hard to juggle!
D25 is taking an SAT prep course in Feb. Didn’t take the PSAT. I’m hoping for her to take the SAT once in the summer and go from there. Our state schools (Cal states and UCs) don’t need it, but of course my kid is not impressed with staying local. Harumph.
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Hi all, I’m curious what college admissions podcasts you’ve enjoyed or considered really good. I’ve been listening to YCBK (Your college-bound kid) for a couple of years now and found it to be good overall, however recently I’ve noticed that I’ve been getting less from it than before. (I believe that they are emphasizing certain narratives more to the extent that the overall “landscape” has become harder to discern)
Any podcasts (or blogs) that you like?
I listen to “Getting In: A College Coach Conversation” and “The College Prep Podcast.” The former is straight admissions information, interviews with university administrators, and financial aid information. The latter also incudes information on learning and studying, which I find interesting. Of the two I think “Getting In” is probably more enjoyable.
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Junior year class registration is open. She is considering a degree in forensics or criminology. She says she wants to be a police officer. At under 5 ft tall, I see her more using her skills in more of a social work type context. We shall see. She will be looking at more non selective schools as her GPA is around 3.0. She prefers a diverse but not too urban campus (she is Latina). Currently a dance team and/or a dance minor is a must.
Junior year shes looking to take: English 11 (not AP). Algebra 2. Anatomy and Physiology (shes taken Bio and Chem). Forensic Science. AP Psychology. Behavior in America and American Issues. And she is choosing the 1 semester ACT prep class which students can take as an elective for credit.
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