The ACT launched a new registration system and took it down the same day as students rushed to sign up for tests
Jul 28, 2020, 11:10 AM | Updated: 11:30 am
Standardized test Photo Courtesy - Shutterstock
(CNN) — The ACT took down its new online registration system on the same day it was launched after it was unable to handle the “extremely high volumes” of users coming to the site, a spokeswoman told CNN in a statement.
“Many students affected by Covid-19-related test center closures and cancellations were attempting to register for fall test dates,” the statement said. “We are working diligently to improve the experience for all users, and have since taken the page down in order to improve system performance.”
ACT asks affected students to check back at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday on their website and social media for an update.
The news comes as the ACT has struggled to keep up with the high demand from students eager to get their tests done in time for college applications while the organization navigates coronavirus precautions.
Earlier this month, nearly two dozen sites canceled testing, many without notice, leaving some families uninformed until the morning of the test.
About 1,400 examinees weren’t able to take the test, an ACT spokesperson told CNN in a previous statement.
One mom, whose daughter was affected by the cancellations, told CNN this was the third time they had received notice there wouldn’t be testing. The other two times had been in April and June.
Responding to the hurdles that the pandemic has created for both testing organizations and students across the country, some universities have suspended ACT and SAT tests as admission requirements for several semesters.
200 students possibly exposed at testing site
High school students who spend weeks preparing for their exams and worrying about the outcome now have even more to be concerned about: the possibility of contracting coronavirus while they’re taking the test.
At an Oklahoma high school where ACT testing took place earlier this month, two students later tested positive for coronavirus and as many as 200 others may have been exposed.
The two students tested positive for the virus just one day after taking the ACT at Edmond North High School on July 18, according to an ACT spokesperson.
The schools reached out to local health officials and the ACT after finding out about the infected students, the spokesperson said. The ACT then informed everyone who was around those two testers that day.
“As part of ACT’s test center social distancing guidelines, students and monitors were asked to complete a series of COVID-19 symptom and travel screening questions, instructed to practice social distancing guidelines while on campus, and it was recommended that masks be worn by all,” the spokesperson said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said students affected by summer testing cancellations would receive an email with further guidance early Tuesday morning. ACT asks students to check back at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday on their website and social media for an update.
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