Stay Sharp Summer Skills

Summer is just around the corner and it’s a great time to continue learning. Once school is out, encourage your middle school or high school student to keep exploring through the summer months. Here are eight tips to enhance your teen’s learning in the warm months:

1. Summer book clubs—Look no further than your local library, bookstore or retail outlet. If you can’t locate a book club, visit the American Library Association website.
2. Career exploration—What does your teen want to do when he or she grows up? One great place to start is ACT’s World-of -Work Map at www.act.org/wwm. Once your child takes EXPLORE^®, PLAN^® or the ACT^®, he or she will learn even more based on the results of their interest inventory.
3. College research—If college is on the radar, encourage your child to begin thinking about potential majors and areas of study. ACT's Map of College Majors details topics, work tasks, available degrees, related occupations and majors, along with salary, size and occupational growth.
4. College campus tours—If you plant a seed while your child is young, your son or daughter may discover an interest in college. And the more college trips you can make, the better informed your child will be when it comes time for the actual college application process.
5. Camp—Consider sending your teen to a summer camp. Choose what you can afford and don’t forget to ask about scholarships or financial help. Ignite or renew your student’s passion in art, music, sports, the environment, debate, or any other area. Traditional camps — think campfires, horseback riding, and archery — are wonderful places to make friends, stay active and learn independent living skills before college.
6. Volunteering—Encourage your teen to volunteer at a local community organization. Not only is volunteering a great thing to do, it will show colleges your teen is empathetic and caring.
7. Community college—Enroll in a summer class or check out your local college’s continuing education courses. Use the summer to learn sign language or French with your student. Or perhaps you two would enjoy Chinese cooking or yoga. The sky’s the limit, but prices are usually very down-to-earth.
8. Work experience—Encourage your teen to find and secure an internship or a job shadowing experience.

It’s Never Too Early to Plan for College and Career

ACT research clearly shows that making sure students are on target academically by 8th grade is critical to their future success. What can you, as a parent, do to be an advocate for your child? A good starting place — even if you attended college — is to visit ACT's Helping Your Child Become a First-Generation Student.

Whether students go to college or directly enter the workforce after high school, they must have the same solid academic preparation. Don’t settle for simply “okay.” Encourage your son or daughter to take the most rigorous classes offered beginning in junior high. Find out the name of the school counselor and get to know him or her. Ask your son or daughter about their classes at school. Be an active partner in your son’s or daughter’s academic career.

Finally, one of the little-known features of the ACT test is a 72-question interest inventory completed during registration. When your teenager receives test scores, he or she will also receive valuable feedback about potential careers and possible college majors based on their interests. The score report also details academic areas where your teenager excels and areas where he or she needs to improve — for example, your teen may need to enroll in a more challenging math or English class next term. Use the helpful data from the ACT score report to plan for the future.

ACT: New Test Security Safeguards

As a parent, you want to ensure that your teen has the same chance to succeed on the ACT as every other teen. You’ll be happy to know that ACT is announcing new protocols for score integrity. The new security steps also take into account the digital world in which today’s teenagers live and operate.

Beginning with next year’s 2012-2013 testing year, the following changes will take effect:

• Students will be required to upload their photo at the time they register.
• The uploaded photo will be printed on the student’s admission ticket and on the roster the testing staff use to check in students on the day of the test.
• On test day, testing staff will match the uploaded photo with the roster and the student’s ID.
• After testing, the uploaded photo will be available to the high school the student attends.

See You Next Fall

ACTParent will take a summer break and will resume publication in August. Have a wonderful and safe summer!

2011–2012 ACT Test Dates

2012–2013 ACT Test Dates

Thanks for reading. Please encourage other parents to subscribe to ACT Parent!

See also:

ACT's Information for Parents

The ACT

PLAN

EXPLORE

Financial Aid

College Search

Careers