On March 11, a group of Timpview High School juniors sat down to take the national ACT—only for it to be canceled halfway through due to technical problems. The atmosphere was tense as students prepared to tackle the important exam, hoping to achieve scores that could impact their future college admissions and scholarship opportunities. For many, this test was a crucial step in their academic journey.
As the students entered the testing room, their proctor, Mrs. Reese, briefed them on the test procedure. The students took their seats. And the importance of the ACT was not lost on anyone.
Students were able to complete the English section, the first section, without any issues. However, when they tried to move on to the math section, things went wrong. The system wouldn’t accept the test codes and kept showing error messages. Even when proctors tried to reset the code and get new ones, nothing worked. There was frustration in the testing room, as the students, who had spent weeks preparing for the exam, couldn’t do anything.
“We took the English section, but then the code for the math section wouldn’t work,” said junior Ryan Austin. “I was pretty upset because I thought I might have to take the whole thing again, including the English section. I still don’t know when we’ll be able to retake it. It was just our class with Mrs. Reese that was affected.”
True Andersen, another junior in the class, described the scene. “We tried another code—same thing. Our proctor tried to reset it on her end and get a new code, but no luck. We all logged out and logged back in, which took like 15 minutes, but it still didn’t work. So we kind of sat around for like half an hour before they finally said we wouldn’t be taking it that day and we could go home.”
The unexpected halt in the testing process led to a mix of emotions among the students. Some were relieved to have extra time to prepare, while others were disappointed by the disruption and the uncertainty it brought. The prolonged wait without any clear answers only added to their stress.
As the students waited in frustration, conversations buzzed about what could have caused the glitch. Some speculated about server issues or software bugs, while others worried about the possibility of having to retake the entire test. Andersen also heard that another school in the Jordan School District may have experienced similar problems, though that has not been confirmed.
For now, students don’t know when they’ll be able to take the test again or whether their English section will count. The front office or Mrs. Reese may have more information in the coming days, but nothing official has been announced yet. The lack of information left students and their parents in a state of limbo, unsure of what steps to take next.
Timpview High School administration and ACT officials are likely working to resolve the issue and reschedule the test as soon as possible. The hope is that a swift resolution will allow students to complete the test without further delays.
