An irregularity occurred during the ACT held at Free State on Sept. 6 in which the digital clock used to time the science section experienced a malfunction.

Test takers were under the impression that the end time of the test was 10-15 minutes earlier than it actually was because the clock visible to the students did not align with the start and end time that the proctor wrote on the board. While students were still given the correct amount of time,  they said that they felt that the irregularity harmed their pacing and caused confusion.

Some students, such as senior Morgan Sponholtz, felt that the confusion negatively impacted their testing performance. Sponholtz said that the difference in the times led her to believe she had 10 fewer minutes than she actually had on the science section; consequently, she began rushing through the section.

“I felt a lot more confident on the science [section], and that just wasn’t totally reflected in this,” Sponholtz said. “The timing was part of that, and then also, it kind of turned me off my game.”

The proctor, Mike Colvin, as well as counselor Marc Conover and three test-takers, reported the irregularity to ACT. As compensation, students who filed a complaint were offered a free test for any national test days in the next year. Colvin said that as far as he knew, nothing else happened after the irregularity was reported.

“We did have a computer glitch. The whole school lost internet access, and so I called the counselor who was running the show, and he came down by the time he got there, it was already starting to get fixed,” Colvin said. “[Students] didn’t lose any time. If anything, they had to go a little longer.”

Although junior Mira Edie said that she did not take the science section, other factors contributed to a poor testing environment.

Another concern Sponholtz said she had following the incident was the lack of time to prepare for and take another ACT if they felt their scores were affected by this irregularity. Sponholtz said she worried that deadlines would close before she got another opportunity to retake the ACT.

“I want to get my [college] applications done. So it’s just kind of frustrating because I did get my scores and I did get a free retake, but my options are to either drive to Eudora in October and take it, or wait until December,” Sponholtz said. “By that point, I’d be worried that my scores wouldn’t come in time to send them to colleges.”