ACT preparation---should I have my dd begin this now?

[Michelle in MO]

She's in 10th grade---I did have her work through a couple of PSAT practice tests in the fall and take the PSAT in October as a dry run. The ACT is being offered at our h.s. in April. Is there any advantage to having her do this as a sophomore? Is there a particular year when the ACT "counts," like the PSAT "counts" in the junior year? Should I wait until next fall?

 

Also, best test prep. book advice, please? Thanks!

[Jane in NC]

She's in 10th grade---I did have her work through a couple of PSAT practice tests in the fall and take the PSAT in October as a dry run. The ACT is being offered at our h.s. in April. Is there any advantage to having her do this as a sophomore? Is there a particular year when the ACT "counts," like the PSAT "counts" in the junior year? Should I wait until next fall?

 

Also, best test prep. book advice, please? Thanks!

 

Homeschooled students in NC are required to take an annual standardized test. The ACT, which is a knowledge based test, is accepted, but not the SAT. Thus my 9th grade son took the ACT last year as both a dry run and to fulfill the state requirement. Those taking the ACT are not required to take the writing portion. Last year my son just did the multiple choice part of the test. This year he'll add the essay part, just to ease him into the concept.

 

By the way, Michelle, you do not have to report ACT scores to colleges. Unlike the SAT which documents all scores from tests taken in high school years, you can choose which ACT test scores to report to whom. This is great for those who need to test the waters.

 

Jane

[Raders Fan]

Well, I am one who does not like surprises. If I have a child who is not going to do well on a standardized test, I want to find out earlier rather than later. Because we seem to have a hard time taking a practice test seriously around here, my 9th grade ds will be taking the ACT at the high school next month.

 

There isn't a year or time when the ACT "counts." The ACT scores do not get reported to your selected colleges unless you want the scores sent, unlike the SAT, which sends all scores.

 

My first ds was a natural standardized test taker, so we never did any test prep books. I'm not quite sure whether this ds is the same, and we haven't yet done any test prep books with him. So I have no recommendations there.

 

One factor to keep in mind is that if you don't register far in advance, you will have to pay an extra fee. I believe the deadline for the April test has passed.

 

HTH,

Jennifer

[Michelle in MO]

I had my oldest work out of Barron's for the PSAT. Is there a good study guide for the ACT?

 

Thanks!

[Staci in CT]

put out by the test makers. You can find it on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Real-ACT-Prep-Guide-Official/dp/0768926750/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_2_txt?pf_rd_p=304485601&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-2&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0375766340&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=08GZ2YVXQ91DPF5T6673

 

I'd also recommend one typical test prep book. The kids on College Confidential (a highly overachieving college bound crowd) seem to like the Princeton Review version called, "Cracking the SAT."

 

Staci

[Hilary]

I second the vote for Staci's recommendation .. The Real ACT Prep Guide. My son used this to prepare for the ACT as a sophomore and did really well. I'm not sure they can be totally relied on, but I often use the reviews at Amazon to guide my test prep book purchases (we seem to have accumulated a ton from all the AP tests we have done/will do). There seems to be a pretty big variation among the quality of test prep books and I figure the people who actually use them (teachers as well as students) are probably the best judges.

[Susan in IL]

On certain dates every year you can pay an extra $12 or $14 to get her answers, the correct answers and a test booklet in the mail. It will be sometime in August but you can use them to find any weak areas that could use some review.

 

That along with the Real ACT book, are what we did.

 

JMHO.