Take the ACT every time from 9th grade?

TooOld4School
Fri, 08 May 2015 03:17:39 +0000

The ACT doesn’t test beyond the Algebra 2 / Geometry level which most kids complete by 10th grade. Kids in advanced math tracks will forget (or will lose speed) on some of the problems if they haven’t had algebra for 2 or 3 years so math scores might drop in later grades.

I think the big advantage of taking the test for multiple years in a lack of pressure. If you wait until the fall of 12th grade your score (if insufficient) and lack of familiarity with the logistics of the test becomes more critical and might result in an extra few mistakes. Cost is only $50, which is much cheaper than taking a class - add a few review books and you are still under $100. Our son scored a 25 in 7th grade (through a talent competition), a 33 in 10th , and a 36 in 11th, the first two with no studying, the latter with about a week of review on the sections he was weakest on. On the last test he was so familiar with the format and strategies that he only had to worry about answering the questions.