These HHS students have scored 33 or better on the ACT test. L-R Cody Tapscott, Abigail Davis, Seth Ballew, Gabbie Stout and Michael Milner pose in front of the ACT bulletin board. | Special to the Enquirer

Randy Garrison

Hartselle Enquirer

When one hears the number 104, one might think of someone being ill and having a 104-degree temperature. With that temp one would not feel very well and would be burning up. Well, the students at Hartselle High are burning up but not with a temperature.

At current standings, 104 students at Hartselle High have scored 25 or above on the ACT test.  This group of 104 is made up of sophomores, juniors and seniors.

The ACT is a curriculum and standards based educational and career planning tool that accesses student’s academic readiness for college. The test is used as an assessment to test high school achievement and for college admissions.

For the parents of high school students, the ACT score also lets them know if their child can expect scholarship opportunities from the college or university they may choose to attend.

There are four main tests included in the assessment: reading, science, math and English with a scale of 1-36 with 36 being the highest that can be achieved. A composite score is made up of the average of the four scores from each category.

English teacher Dr. Jerome Ward thinks the culture of ACT has changed beginning with the AP class grant that was received by HHS a few years back. With the AP classes, he saw a move towards more academic teaching at the school. There was less teacher up front lecturing with a move to higher order learning and critical thinking. With this implementation, there was a change of mindset at the school.

Ward mentioned, “iron sharpening iron” with teachers collaborating with each other and hitting the standards needed on a daily basis. The teachers are no longer just teaching to a test.

Jordan Lybrand, test coordinator and guidance counselor at HHS says that one quarter of the students in the 11th and 12th grades have reached this score. She also mentioned that colleges and universities are raising the ACT entrance scores required to enter the particular college or university. Also, the return to parents is important with the higher scores in regards to money for education.

Each student has a one on one  meeting where a goal is set for them for the ACT test. They have a goal for both the practice and the actual test. The students are also rewarded for reaching their goal. A bulletin board is set up with scrolls with the names of those who have reached their personal goal. Also one they probably like better, when the goal is reached the student is allowed to be exempt from a semester exam, except for AP classes.

Six students at HHS have scored 33 or above on their ACT test. Seth Ballew is a senior who has a composite score of 34. He scored 35 in science and English and 33 in reading. He reached his score on the second test attempt. He has already been accepted to the University of Alabama and he plans to be a dermatologist.

Ballew will receive full tuition reimbursement from the university and plans to apply for room and board reimbursement from Fellows or Crimson Men. He began working on his ACT score in 9th grade by focusing on taking AP (Advance Placement) classes. Ballew is also a member of the baseball team.

High school juniors take practice ACT tests. The tests are long and have short amounts of time to complete the portions of the test.

Gabbie Stout is a junior at HHS and has a composite score of 33 She plans to take the test again in December.  She has taken the test three times. She scored 36 in both English and reading with 33 in science and 30 in math. At the top of her college list is Dartmouth and she wants to be a pediatrician.

Stout is a hospice volunteer, student ambassador, member of HOSA and the Cross Country team manager. She mentions the teachers are very competitive and want you to get college credit and have a head start on your college years.

Cody Tapscott is a junior and has a composite score of 34. He is a student ambassador, member of HOSA and the scholars bowl team. He plans to study chemistry, math or science and perhaps enter medical or pharmacy school. His scores include Enblish 36, math 29, reading 33 and science 36. He has a working list of schools including Virginia, Wake Forest, Vandy, Duke, University of Washington, University of Michigan and UAB.

He is already working campus visits and feels the ACT culture was a help for him. HHS pushes AP and Pre-AP as much as possible, they also help with time management for the test taking. Tapscott took the test the first time in seventh grad and scored a 30.

Abigail Davis, a senior has a composite score of 33. She would like to attend Troy or UAB and major in business. She would like to have a job that involves traveling. She has taken the test five times and feels the math ACT practice with Mr. Garner has been a help to her. She has scores of English 35, reading 35, math 33 ad science 33.

Michael Milner, senior, has a composite score of 33 He has also been accepted to The University of Alabama where he will receive full tuition. He will major in engineering. His scores are English 35 and math 30, he has taken the test three times.

He feels that taking ACT prep as a sophomore helped in his score. He is a member of the National Honor Society.

Weston Baker, junior, has a composite score of 34. He was not present today. Baker also plays soccer.

All of the students mentioned time management being one of the hardest parts of the test. In the reading portion you have 35 minutes to answer 40 questions about different topics including social science, humanitarian, fiction and non-fiction.

Principal Jeff Hyche mentions “Our teachers are working to make ACT part of the culture here.  We want students to be comfortable with the timing and types of questions asked so they can all meet their personal goals and do their very best.”

The students who have scored 25 or above include:

TWELFTH GRADE

Maggie Akers, Christopher Alexander, Lane Anders, Seth Ballew, Christopher Bartholomew, Colin Blackwood, Holly Blankenship, Reagan Bowling, Allyson Burgess, Hope Cain, Patrick Carlisle, Lance Compton, Victoria Conard, Emily Crow, Abigail Davis, John Dershem, Samantha Drake, David Dunford, Thomas Edwards, Cody Evans, Sara Faulk, Caleb Goodwin, Matthew Green, Zane Green, Jackson Harris, Makayla Hayes, Haley Hickman, Austin Higginbotham, Mackenzie Holtsclaw, Jack Hudley, Matthew Jared, Jayce Johnson, Hayden Jones, Kayla Key, Aliya Leslie, Samantha Lightle, Zeth Malcolm, Lauren Manley, Julia Matthews, Luke McDaniel, Logan Miller, Lori Milligan, Michael Milner, Riley Olague, Jaxon  Peebles, Thomas Pugh, Zachary Roberson, Macy Russell, Kayla Sartin, Alexis Shelton,Trenton Sivley, Mary Sittason, Madison Slaten, Brady Smith, Dallas Southers, Lauren Speer, Anna Stinson, Keelan Stricklin, Jacob Tiffin, Brenden Walker, Rena Walker, Brianna Wallace, Sara Winton and Mary Wooley.

ELEVENTH GRADE

James Baker, Savannah Ball, Collin Boggs, Elizabeth Counts, Aubree Cuip, Hannah Dotson, Melissa Ebling, Mikayla Ferguson, Bryan Garber, Taylor Garrison, Olivia Hall, Cyrus Harris, Megan Haskins, Layla Hermes, Mary Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Jameson Lawrence, Tessa Maynard, Elizabeth McCutcheon, Rachel McKelvey, Caleb Meyer, Sarah Nix, Andrew Nuss, Tanner Oakes, Jainik Patel, Kyle Patterson, Josh  Phillips, Katherine Poe, Cassie Powell, Riley Rochelle, Carden Roden, Taylor Shelton, Brent Smtih, Eric Stephenson, Gabrielle Stout, Wesley Tanner and Cody Tapscott.

TENTH GRADE

John Ballew.