ACT Tips

Check out these helpful hints about the ACT from Mrs. Russell! Use the top tips for your classroom and share the bottom ones with students.

Key ACT Prep Strategies for Your School

1. Content remediation is key.

Studies have found that ACT scores are correlated to content knowledge and reading level, NOT test taking skills. As a matter of fact, one study in Illinois found that the amount of class time spent teaching test taking skills was NEGATIVELY correlated with ACT scores.

2. Don't make assumptions about your students' knowledge of fundamentals.

Even high performing students miss ACT questions correlated with fundamentals. If you simply try giving your students a refresher on ACT content instead of actually finding and remediating their deficiencies, you will achieve limited results.

 

3. Work on pattern recognition.

Even if students know how to solve a certain math problem or how to correct a specific grammar error, they may still miss the ACT-level question because they fail to recognize that they need to apply the math or grammar rule to that particular question. Practice helps the students recognize  question patterns and know when a question calls for applying a specific skill or rule. Every skill we teach in the ACT Mastery program has 15 or more practice questions in order to help develop pattern recognition.

Four Easy, Effective ACT Tips for Your Students

 

Get familiar with what the ACT is testing.

You don't want to waste your ACT prep time learning skills that aren't tested!

The English test measures how well you can edit different passages on the fly, improving grammar and composition.

The Math test checks your problem-solving skills. Many ACT math problems are word problems, and it won't be enough to simply know how to do math operations.

The Reading test grades your reading comprehension. The higher your reading level and the better your vocabulary, the better you'll do.

The Science test gauges your science reasoning ability. It isn't measuring what science facts you've memorized; it's checking to see if you can learn new science facts quickly from charts, graphs, and passages.

Practice your pace.

The ACT is a timed test. Time is of the essence.

It isn't just a question of whether you know how to answer a certain problem. It all comes down to whether you can answer it in a limited time frame.

In order to get through the test and still have enough time to double back, check your answers, and re-think any questions you skipped, stick to the following pacing...

English: 30 seconds per question.  

Math: 50 seconds per question.

Reading: 7 minutes per passage (including answering the passage's questions).

Science: 4 minutes and 30 seconds per passage (including answering the passage's questions).

Maintaining the recommended pace will give you 5-10 minutes to check your answers and work skipped problems.

Answer every question.

There is no penalty for guessing on the ACT. Make sure every row on your answer sheet is bubbled with your best guess before time is up. 

Give yourself time to prepare.