@Darcy123 I heard the “curve” on the science section this time was brutal since it was an easier version. Who knows. The issue is mostly that, even under timed circumstances at home, she’s getting more like a 30-31 on all sections with English and reading sometimes going as high as 34. Reading on this official test was the only one with an expected score. Everything else was mid-20s. She’s definitely the kind of kid who gets ‘in her head’ about stuff so this is not helping. She keeps saying “but I studied all summer!!” and I really need her to just move on. For some kids, and it looks like this is her, it’s not as easy to post the score you know you can get.
I’m thinking of finding a tutor and staying with ACT for December sitting at least. See what happens. And then maybe move to SAT if it’s really not working out. Gosh she is going to hate on that!!
It may sound silly, but my kids found the ACT watch immensely helpful for prep and time management. I bought it on Amazon and it is preprogrammed with the allotted time for each section (and no beeps, etc. so fine to use for actual tests). Using that, they did not need to look up to the clock and figure out how much time they had left - it provided that info. with limited distraction.
I agree with sticking with he ACT for December. But maybe take a few days off and not jump into prep right away. That can be frustrating and she may not be in the right frame of mind to do ACT studying this week. When she does get back to it, perhaps for the first couple of weeks focus on the concepts and nailing those before jumping back into taking timed tests. Tell her it’s also encouraging that she did best on reading, because that is the section you really can’t study for. The other sections can come up with tricks and tips and practice
Have her attempt the math section from the back first. The last questions are undoubtedly the hardest as each problem progresses in difficulty. While she won’t have any “extra” time persay, she will have the luxury of spending her last few minutes looking at easier problems than she would harder problems. This strategy helped me raise my math section 3 points (as I usually missed the last few by not being able to get to them in time).
Perhaps try a change of venue for where she takes the practice tests. Taking the practice tests (physical copies, not online) in a quiet room at school or library, and not at home or in a cafe, would help to simulate better the real test condition. Our brains do adapt very quickly, especially with young people. She might also consider recruiting a few students (friends) to practice together in a public setting. My son used a test prep service; the students met once a week (3 hours) for 10 weeks at a school and took many mini practice tests, and the full tests twice.
@tgl2023 thanks. I like the idea of her grabbing some friends and heading to the library. She does indeed study at our public library and does good work there. And sharing the stress of having to study works for her.
She does take her practice tests in the quiet room at our library.
With all sincerity, have you considered not being involved at all?
We hired a reputable ACT tutor who worked weekly and individually with our D20. She went from a no-prep practice test of 27, to an official 31, next test 32 and the last time 34. The tutor was invaluable with giving D strategies to complete each section on time and they would frequently take timed ACTs for practice on Saturdays and review together, what she missed and why.
Everyone is different, but taking us parents out of the test prep process made all of the difference for our D.
Well worth the cost, especially if a higher score means more merit for some colleges.
Act was fast for my son. Practice tests he basically had all correct answers but couldn’t finish the tests. We did get a tutor and he fixed the problem but he had to do “lots” of practice problems to get it done. He increased his speed in increments. He also used https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-5-lb-book-of-act-practice-problems-manhattan-prep/1120686568 on the suggestion of the tutor.
He ended up with a 34. It took lots of work to get it done.
@Knowsstuff we have that book but she hasn’t used it yet. Now that I have the breakout from ACT on the kinds of problems she got wrong, I feel like she can use it. Was the book the main source of your son’s practice problems? Then he used real tests to work on timing?
Glad to hear that he was able to hit a great score in the end!
His tutor used this book for the math problems mostly. English /reading were not great sections since he reads slower. So his tutor gave him some pointers that I wish I knew what it was then he jumped up that sections.
My sons attitude was he was going to work on his weakness but try to really raise his strengths for the overall score improvement. He worked math /science hard and was getting like 35-36 for practice tests on them. In reality he got 35s on those two sections that help raise his overall score. Plus those two sections were more important for engineering.
He used the books for the practice tests. The explanations in the book were really good also.
So… It’s actually like 7lbs BTW but crack it open and start to do the tests. Think the problems in the books are also slightly harder then the actual tests
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Also having the tutor watch him take the tests was key. He was doing something when writing in the answers that was taking time off the clock. Like little things that add up quickly.
