On Feb. 12, CHS offered an opportunity to take the ACT, which many students readily accepted. The ACT is a standardized test that is known to be an extreme cause of stress for students. Whether it be the preparation for the test, the test itself or the anxious wait for results.
Junior Celia Watson said, “The ACT is so stressful, before and after. Now I have to wait until my results are posted, which could take weeks or months.” 

ACT results are something students stress about due to the depth of importance they hold. Good scores on this exam can impact the college application process. 

“The ACT practically determines where I go to college, of course I am going to be stressed in all timelines of it,” Watson said. “Before the test, I was stressed about taking it, I was stressed while taking it, and now I am stressed about my score.” 

Rachel Cole, head of the Counseling Department, said currently, one of the largest factors of stress in students is standardized testing. 

Cole said, “[Students should] get enough sleep, eat healthy, exercise 30 minutes a day, take 30 minutes to have downtime. Only 15% of students come to the counseling department to deal with their stress, and that is okay because it is important to cope with stress on your own.”  

Cole said, “[To deal with stress students should] first, identify why you feel so stressed. Oftentimes, the stress from testing is not the only factor in stress. There are nearly always numerous factors to stress, and tackle the things that you can do something about first.” By Pahal Sehgal