Students are constantly being shown future opportunities at Tupelo High School. One of those ways is through the school’s college and career readiness programs. A vital part of the curriculum is the taking of the ACT WorkKeys. 

The ACT WorkKeys is a test comprised of three sections: applied math, workplace documents, and graphic literacy. To prepare for the test, College and Career Readiness students went through a WorkKeys boot camp. College & Career Readiness teacher Joseph Koon noted that there were two boot camps that each covered different aspects of the test. Koon believes students should be well prepared because of the WorkKeys training and the prior knowledge garnered from all of their THS classes.

Certain students who have already taken the WorkKeys didn’t find too much trouble in the test, and believe students can do well as long as they focus on what’s in front of them.

“Don’t second-guess yourself, just read,” Junior Dayshaun Souter said. 

Students who use the information given to them from other classes at the high school and apply it to the test are shown to have higher scores.

“Just pay attention in class, that’s all I can really say,” Senior Carson Foster said.

Most students are striving for at least a silver, as that is the required score for many jobs, but teachers believe students can hit higher.

“We had a decent bit of platinum and gold, so I think you’ll be able to strive for that,” Koon said.

The test can help many students in their future occupations if they score high.  Many job applications require the test score to apply.

“If a job requires it, and you have a good score, it makes you look better,” Souter said.

A premium score would ensure students get the job they want when applying. Unless a student scores the same across all three sections, the student’s overall score is determined by their lowest individual score. For this reason, students are allowed to retake specific sections in order to boost their scores.

“Maybe I’ll use this later, it depends on my career,” Junior Jaylene Cruz said.

 More and more jobs are requiring students to have a certain score for their future.

“Take it seriously and hopefully get in front of some employers with some strong scores,” Koon said.

Not only can taking the WorkKeys test get you into a job that requires it, but it also looks good on a resume for a more competitive position.