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ACT photo ID question


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My teens do not have a gov't issued ID.  Neither have driver permits yet so they haven't needed an ID.  I saw you can print out a form and get a photo with notarization.  

They are pretty nervous being their first big group test, so I don't want the ID thing to be a bigger issue.  

Is it better to just pay to get an ID or will the alternative photo form go smoothly?

 

any other tips for taking the ACT for the first time you want to share?   My DS wasn't able to do the PSAT this fall, so both my teens are new to this big testing in the PS.  

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My 12 year old just took the ACT in February and he had a special form that said no ID.  Did you get one of those?  I would follow whatever instruction they sent you.  They did announce across the room this is a no ID kid which he found a bit embarrassing but he survived.  The lady just hadn't seen the form before and wanted to double check with the other teacher.  It ended up being no problem.

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40 minutes ago, Tess in the Burbs said:

hmm ok maybe I'll just pay for the ID.  It will cost me about $100 so I was hoping to avoid it for now.  But I can see a need at this age.

Holy cow! How many kids and what ages? Our state ID is maybe $20. Dd had a state ID, then the learner's school permit (so she could take driver's ed) then a regular learner's permit and now a license and I don't think the combo of all of those (4 total) was much over $50 including fees.

If your kids are still young and it'll be that much, I'd just do the notarized statement.

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Yikes! It looks like some states are free (Michigan?). Mine is less than $30 if you want one good for 5 years. For those who need it less (like teens who will get a driver's permit in a couple of years), it is as little as $8 (1 yr) or $11 (2 yr). That's crazy-talk!

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I was also going to suggest you go ahead and get ID's - my teens have them and they do come in handy. But they're less than $10 here. They have them set up so that they're also public school ID, linked to the bus, the library, etc. Public schooled kids don't pay for them at all. What an absurd fee. It's like a poor tax since, other than young people, the vast majority of people who need government ID that isn't a driver's license is people who are elderly on fixed incomes, disabled in some way, or too poor to own a car. At that price, I don't know if I'd do it yet - especially if you think they will be getting their licenses in the next couple of years.

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DD took the ACT with the alternative ID form.  We actually had troubles with it.  First of all, we had trouble finding a notary who was willing to sign it.  Our credit union offers free notary service, but they refused to sign.   He read the form and then said that without a photo ID, he had no way of knowing that my DD was REALLY her.  Uh, this is an alternative ID form for people who don't have ID?  Yep, across the board, the bank notaries turned us down.

We ended up going to a lawyer who DH has done work for, so we got it notarized just in time.

Then at the test, the people checking ID's did pause and do a double check on DD's form.  Turns out there are two different ones- there's the No ID form for minors not old enough for a driver's license, and then the Alternative ID for kids like mine who are old enough but don't have one.   The test moderator's did a double check, but they said it was only because it wasn't a form they were used to seeing.  Most kids have school ID's these days.

The only reason we didn't get a legal ID was because we didn't have a piece of official mail for DD to use to prove her address at the DMV.  She never gets mail that is not handwritten by a grandparent and that doesn't count.  

 

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OP if it will cost you $100 USD to get photo IDs I am offering this suggestion as an alternative. It will cost more, but you will be paying for something valuable.  I would consider getting them U.S. Passports.  That's the best identification one can have.

Regarding the ACT and not having taken the PSAT/NMSQT.  My DD is going to take the Pre ACT or whatever that's called, later this month and she will Register to take the ACT given on June 9th, later this month.  There is one thing I read about the ACT includes several Trig questions and my DD hasn't had Pre Calc yet so she is going to need to try to figure out the scope of the Trig questions and give herself a "crash" course in  Trig, for those questions.   On ACT.ORG they now have information about Free study aid for the ACT.    https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-preparation.html

 

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