Math score in the 20s. How to improve?

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

<p>So far I’ve taken 3 ACT practice tests (all timed) out of the Real ACT Prep Book (the red book) and my scores were:</p>

<p>First try – 28 (English) 27 (Math) 35 (Reading) 34 (Science)
I took the English section on 2AM in the morning. I was literally dozing off by the time I got to question #40, so I BSed the rest of the section, went to bed, and finished the rest of the test the next day.</p>

<p>Second try – 33 (English) 28 (Math) 36 (Reading) 33 (Science)</p>

<p>Third try – 34 (English) 29 (Math) 33 (Reading) 30 (Science)
I experimented a bit with this one. I knew I was going to be under heavy stress during the real ACT exam, so I took this one in the living room, where my sister was watching a movie (I’m extremely sensitive to noise). </p>

<p>So it seems like math, especially algebra, is giving me the most trouble. I completely slept through my algebra and geometry classes in 9th and 10th grade, which might explain the relatively low scores. I usually make 2 or 3 stupid mistakes and the rest are mostly algebra/geometry stuff that I never learned. I also have trouble pacing myself. I realize that you can’t learn everything in a week, but is there something I can do to improve my math score?</p>

<p>I don’t have a tutor and can’t afford new books, but these are the ones that I currently have:

  1. The Real ACT Prep Guide 3rd Edition
  2. Barron’s ACT (the regular one, not the 36 one. Thinking of reviewing math with this one. Is it any good?)
  3. Princeton Review ACT 2010 Edition (never even looked at it)</p>

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>I would recomend knowing the following formulas:</p>

<p>Area trapezoid = 1/2 (B1+B2) x h
Area Triangle= 1/2 BH
Area Square BH
Midpoint = (x1+x2)/2 , (y1+y2)/2
Distance= square root (x2-x1)^2 + (y2-y1)^2
Circumference = 2pie r
Area circle= pie r^2</p>

<p>Of course there are many more formulas and concepts to know, but I would recomend to keep practicing to get a feel for what the type of questions are like. Once you start to think like the act test makers and have an idea of the questions, I believe your scores will improve.</p>

<p>Hope this helps</p>

3

<p>Wow, thank you. As embarrassing it is, I wasn’t even aware that there was a specific formula for trapezoids (that’s what I get for slacking off). Seems like I need some rigorous math review. Thanks!</p>

4

<p>This is off-topic, but what success did you experience with the Red Book? I have studied with the Barron’s 16th edition and it has come to bite me in the butt… that 160+ page math review didn’t raise my points a BIT! I’ve heard the red book is quite grand, however.</p>

5

<p>You should try McGraw Hill’s 50 Math skills :slight_smile: it’s so good and worth it! If you get it used, it’s really cheap. :)</p>