A group of students gather to tests for Academic Decathlon in hopes of advancing their academic skills. The tests are taken at Berlin High School in room A-243. The first test of the season was on Nov. 9. Students take these tests for a variety of reasons including college applications, fun and to advance their academic abilities. 

When the students were taking the test, senior Karisa Tessaro found similarities from the ACT taken her junior year and other standardized tests from before taking the ACT.

“They are very similar to standardized tests. We have to act like we’re taking the ACT every time we do this. We follow similar protocols by not sitting next to each other, no phones in the room, and we need a supervisor in the room at all times,” Tessaro said. “Also just how the test itself is, it’s divided by subject, it takes a long time, and it’s all multiple choice.”

When addressing the similarities between the tests, another comes to mind for senior Gabrielle Delzer, which is having less time than questions.

“It takes 20 minutes for each section and we have to answer 50 questions. There are a lot of questions, but we have a huge study guide,” Delzer said.

Tessaro finds these tests cause her to think quickly and ultimately has helped her think clearly when under pressure even in fun games like trivia.

“The short test times encourage quick thinking and making plans in advance. I can be a real whiz with fun facts and destroy people at trivia,” Tessaro said.

Delzer found other skills have emerged from participating in the Academic Decathlon. She discovered her ability to find key information.

“The tests teach you more about skimming and using reasoning skills to figure out what is more likely to appear on the test versus what isn’t,” Delzer said.

Freshman Tom Schumacher claims he is finding the tests helpful with regular classroom tests.

“The test has already helped me with tests I take in my classes,” Schumacher said.