Yes! I guess that’s why the school report is so important to college admissions. Lots of different variables, course offerings, etc. depending on the school/district.
In our large urban, public school district, there are no junior high or middle schools. Students go straight from elementary (K-8) to high school (9-12). This really impacts the starting point for students entering high school, particularly in math and foreign language.
Congrats on so many good scores! And if there are low scores, that is okay too. Everything is still a good experience.
S26 got a 4 on AP World. We are both very happy with that. He also took the AP Calc AB class, but didn’t test. His school doesn’t limit AP classes, except by prerequisites. They offer no honors level classes at all, so many kids do AP.
Next year, he’s signed up for 1 AP and 3 IB classes, but there are a lot of conflicts, so we are talking about what to change.
S26 was shocked to get a 5 on his AP World and is still riding that high this evening. It was his first AP so we were really viewing it as more of a test run for next year’s APs. It’s definitely a nice confidence boost!
He’ll likely have 3-4 next year but we won’t know for sure until he gets his schedule the day before school starts. It’s a smaller school so there are inevitably scheduling conflicts that have to be navigated every semester.
Congratulations!!!
Yes, AP classes show rigor. My S23 got so many credits from AP and DE classes that he started college almost a sophomore! Huge plus. Unfortunately, my S26’s school only offers 3 or 4 DE classes. DE classes are much better IMO.
Congratulations!! My S26 also got a 5 on the APWH exam. His first AP, and he’s also thrilled! Which APs is yours taking next year?
He’s hoping to take APUSH, AP Lang, and AP Calc AB. Possibly an AP Science if we can fit it in but the other 3 would take priority. They are on a 4x4 block schedule so we’re also trying to balance the course load and ideally not have 4 AP all at once!
That’s what my son will be taking too plus AP Seminar…I told him 4 APs is a lot, a big jump from taking just 1 AP sophomore year, but he insisted. We will see! I’m nervous for him, but he’s the only one who knows how much he can handle.
Our school also limits you to 4 APs per year. He’s taking 3 APs, AP Calc BC, AP Environmental Science and AP US History. He could have taken AP English as well but after I chatted with the English teachers at our open house it turns out the Honors English class spends more time on writing essays.
I figure more kids are trying to load up on AP classes so the Honor class is probably smaller and he’ll get more time work on his essay writing which will be key for him when college application time comes around. He had an easy summer with an online college course that took him about an hour a week to do and he’s on track for an easy A.
I can’t believe he’s already going to be a junior. He’s dreading this year a bit but also focusing on what fun he can have the summer he’s done with his senior year.
D26 was thrilled to get a 5 in AP Chem! It’s the only AP she could take in 10th grade (and they aren’t allowed any in 9th). She has APUSH, AP Lang and AP Bio next year, and is feeling more confident about those choices now that she learned how to study for the Chem exam 
ACT is planning a redesign to debut next spring. ACT Newsroom & Blog: The ACT Test Is Evolving
(I’m surprised I haven’t seen this yet posted on CC; maybe I missed it.)
Hello everyone, I can’t believe we’re at the halfway mark, time is going by so fast! S26 finished his sophomore year with a 4.0 GPA and earned a 5 on his AP World History Exam, his second AP so far. This summer he is taking pre-calculus. Junior year he is planned to take 5 AP classes which would include: AP English Lang, AP Spanish, AP Calculus AB, AP US History, AP Chemistry, and Advanced Dance. In addition to taking rigorous courses, he holds multiple board positions in a few clubs.
We are hoping to finish strong once again this upcoming school year and he will take the PSAT to hopefully earn a national merit scholarship. Next year we will tour some of the universities on our list. We are so excited for this journey!! 
I haven’t seen anyone else mention this, thanks for posting. Hmm. At first glance I’d think doing it without science is just broadcasting that the student didn’t do well at the science section on a practice test? The timing of the changes also sounds a little awkward for 2026 grads, especially for those who will be applying EA/ED and might want to retake? Not sure about efficiently prepping with a change about to come in either?
Makes me think SAT may be the way to go (X26 tested pretty similar on both on the practice tests and had no particular preference between them).
I hope the changes are after S26’s mandated statewide test date. He scored a 36 in science on the June ACT. Telling him great, but the science section doesn’t count anymore, so your superscore composite is lower than your first sitting composite would be demoralizing.
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D26 is shadowing tomorrow in the Cath lab at a local hospital. It will be very interesting to see what she thinks. She shadowed at an outpatient allergy office and was really bored and said that pace is definitely not for her. Really glad she is getting these opportunities to see what nursing is like.
Our D had an optometrist appointment today and told the students who helped with her exam that she was potentially interested in optometry, and then she talked with the doctor / professor in charge (we have our appointments at the clinic at the optometry school). D said they had a great conversation and she had a lot of fun talking to them about everything they did during the exam. She was thinking about asking them about shadowing, but she is not sure how that works for high school students.
Well, D26 confirmed that she definitely wants to do nursing and definitely wants to work in a hospital. She just got home from her shadow time in the Cath lab and loved every minute. I am so grateful to all those nurses in there who were so excited to have a rising junior student with them. They explained so much to her and drew her diagrams, let her ask questions, etc. She said they could not have been more helpful. It was quite chaotic because they were affected by the global internet outage and had issues with their software but the charge nurse was great and said it was good for her to see the unit function in a time of crisis. She is now hoping to figure out a way to get a job next summer in the medical field but not sure if that is doable since she won’t have certification. I am looking into Certified Nurse’s Aide training but all the programs are 125 classroom hours plus clinical/lab and she just can’t do that with school. Anyway, this mama nurse is thrilled for her and excited to see where she ends up going with this interest 
Science is my daughter’s best section and they are trying to separate it. It may lower her composite score. Annoying for us.
I think that the lack of response on CC may be due to the lack of information from ACT. If you look at the press release, it raises as many questions as it answers. For example, this is the roll out timeline from the press release:
“Both of these exciting changes, along with other enhancements to modernize the test, will roll out starting with National online testing in spring 2025 and then for school-day testing in spring 2026.”
I think that “school-day testing” is when ACT partners with your child’s high school to offer the test at the high school. But if this is true…when do the changes take effect at the big ACT test centers using the paper and pencil format?
Can you tell me more about the nursing shadow- is it at a local hospital. How did you find out/ apply. DD26 is planning to go into nursing and that sounds like a great idea for next summer.