Sophomores spent their first two class periods of the day taking a preliminary version of the ACT known as the PLAN test today.

The Preliminary ACT offers sophomores the chance to see what taking the actual ACT will feel like, and that it will give them a projected score for how they would do on the actual test, said Guidance Counselor Leslie Kersha.

“Rock Bridge pays for sophomores to take it every year so they can have that experience to work from and prepare for what the ACT will really be like,” Kersha said.

But with sophomores gone during both first and second hour classes, The PLAN test leaves teachers and students alike at a loss.

“You do have that dilemma of ‘Hey, do I work with these…10 [non-sophomore] students and they’ll be ahead of [the sophomores], or do I simply make these kids waste their time today?’” Career Center teacher Patrick Sasser said. “Today we worked on our magazines, [so] the other students are going to be behind. The sophomores will have missed about 90 minutes of work time on their magazines, which are due at the end of the day today, so they’re going to miss their deadline.”

The element of surprise also hindered both students and teachers, as some did not know when the test would occur.

“We didn’t get an e-mail ahead of time letting us know. I only knew today, coming in, that we would be having the PLAN test, and that was only because my wife somehow knew,” said Sasser whose wife teaches English at RBHS.

Many sophomores, as well, said the surprise of the PLAN test left them at a disadvantage.

“I’ve heard a lot of things about the ACT. I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time, and I’m pretty stressed about it already,” said sophomore Andy Carranza. “If there is an opportunity to actually see what the ACT will be like and let me see how I might do, I’d appreciate it if I knew about it before the morning of the test.”

By George Sarafianos

additional reporting by Karina Kitchen

Have you taken the PLAN test? Did it help you prepare for the ACT?