ACT. Easily on the list of things I never thought I would think about again. In my hometown, people rarely received a score lower than 28. My siblings have had contests to see who could beat the others on subsection scores. My brother prepped for the ACT by taking a day off of school and going through an entire prep book- the day before the exam. He got a near perfect score. It has never been a big deal. Just something on the checklist of things to do on your college application. In high school, I even argued against such aptitude tests- saying they weren’t a true measure of intelligence, just how well you were able to take tests (or memorize a book). I remember feeling concerned for people I knew who scored a 25- doubting their ability to get into a good school.
Fast forward to this year. I’m in the front office of the high school. It’s the end of the day- no students, only a handful of faculty. This is my first week at BWHS and I’m struggling with figuring out how to teach. I know the material, I love the material. The hard part is figuring out how to convey that to seniors so they actually learn it. I’m trying to establish some student baseline to work up from. After voicing this conundrum, the faculty start throwing stats at me. I do mean throw, because they certainly didn’t stick the first time. The average ACT score of students is 19. I’m sorry, what? 19. I thought 8th graders got those ACT scores. No, that’s being too generous. I honestly did not even think those scores were possible to achieve on the ACT. I assumed that by filling it out and turning it in you achieved a 20. The ACT isn’t hard. All it takes is reading comprehension and writing. (insert lightbulb noise) #1. A little less than half of the students at BWHS come from Spanish-speaking households. #2. Students enter BWHS with an average reading comprehension of 6th graders. I have serious doubts about the validity of BWHS’s “college-preparatory” status.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m really doing JVC. I could just be a faculty member at BWHS. There’s no disadvantage at BWHS. Outwardly, the school seems like your typical private high school. It’s an ancient, beautiful, brick building. The students wear clean uniforms and practice good hygiene. There is a full faculty that seems happy and fulfilled in their work. There are computers and even a development office. Nothing about this place seems disadvantaged. I really wondered if BWHS should be a part of JVC. Why do they need a volunteer? Because the school is floating on a sea of hard work and generous benefactors. I swear I see Fr. Michael, the president, meeting with a donor everyday, sometimes twice a day. These people are the reason students are here. Just over half of BWHS students are on the free and reduced lunch program. You can bet they aren’t paying tuition to attend school.
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