If the ACT writing portion did not go well, would you do it again on the next one?

[MtnTeaching]

(This is a cross-post. I have not received any responses on the hs board, so I thought this might be a better spot).

 

Ds took the ACT last week and I am in the process of signing him up to take the one in June, as well.  I am trying to figure out whether or not to have him take the writing portion again.

 

He said that he saw the prompt on the April test and froze a bit.  It was something like "Evaluate and discuss the considerations high schools have to take into account when deciding whether or not to engage in field trips for high schoolers."  Uggg.  My homeschool boy said his mind went blank and he knows he did a very poor job on that prompt.

 

What if he did awesome on the multiple-choice part of the test?  Is there anyway to send just that portion to a college?

 

Should he try the writing portion again on the June test or forget about it?  He has in no way narrowed his college search so he does not know if the colleges he wants to apply to will require the writing portion.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Well, I will say that ds did the writing the 2nd time he took the ACT and scored a 7.  He also did tried it the 3rd time and scored a 6.  :scared: I think both times he said he ran out of time...I don't think you can send just a portion though there is some talk about score choice that I never pay attention to.  My gut feeling is that colleges don't really bother taking the writing portion into consideration.  But, what do I know?  Is he motivated at all to practice between now and June?  Mine never was.

[FaithManor]

We do not have any schools on ds's short list that require the ACT writing, and when talking to admission's at these colleges, they said they pay NO thought to the writing portion and emphasize their admission's essays. So, the essays with the application count in their minds, the other they say they aren't impressed with the rubric and timed nature of the test (nor the lack of qualifications for the graders and the per hour quota they have for doing the grading) since it doesn't really reflect how a student will write in say College Writing or English Lit class. They prefer to see the level of writing and effort produced when the student has time to think critically about the prompt, time to edit, etc.

 

So, if you don't have any colleges on the list that require the writing portion, I'd be inclined to drop it, take the test again, and then report that set of scores.

[snowbeltmom]

Since you don't know where your son will be applying, I would have him take the ACT with writing.  The writing score does not affect the composite score, and schools can choose to ignore the essay score.  A friend's son took the ACT without the writing section and received a composite score that he was very happy with.  Unfortunately, he later decided to apply to a school that required the ACT with writing and had to take the test again.  The composite score on the retake was lower than what he had obtained the first time.

[Vida Winter]

My daughter prepared with Bravewriter's SAT/ACT writing prep course. I was very impressed - they did timed practices and shared work with the rest of the class and Julie had the best comments for each student. The class was worth it and resulted in dd only needing to do the writing portion of the ACT once, even though she took the ACT two more times to improve her composite score.

[MtnTeaching]

Thank you all for the comments.  He has decided to take it again, just in case there are colleges that ask for it.  He is going to do some practicing for it, but right now, he is working on his 2 AP tests which are coming up.  That is the focus right now.

 

I think he was thrown because the formats of the tests are so different (the AP which he has been studying for and the reality of the ACT).  The question on the ACT test also threw him.  He needs to understand how to be prepared for a question that he may not be well versed in, such as questions that are geared more toward public school students, social media, etc.

 

Once the AP tests are over, he will be really focusing on the ACT timed prompts.

[J-rap]

We found this book very helpful in preparing.  It's for the SAT, but I would imagine they are similar?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Increase-Your-Score-Minutes-Day-ebook/dp/B0098VQU4W

[Guest mel6]

I need advice! Hi, I partially homeschool my son who is a junior. The state requires he take 4 classes at school to participate in sports. He is really talented in athletics and in tenth grade started getting college letters. But, he is not as talented in the area of academics. If it werent for sports he most likely would be entering the workforce after high school. He has reading comprehension problems and in middle school I took him out of private school to try to work with him at home. It has been a long road because I also stopped his adhd medication at the same time.

 

So, I am looking for advice. He needs to do get the minimum score on sat or act for the college and ncaa standards (I don't have specific numbers in front of me). I would like to do specific curriculum or prep course for sat or act.

 

My questions are: which test should he be working towards or should he do both,(I don't think act will be the best because he will be tested on more subjects), what are good courses online or in book form to help him prepare, and is it realistic to think this is possible considering he is only just completing algebra 1 and so behind? Thank you for any advice.

[MtnTeaching]

I need advice! Hi, I partially homeschool my son who is a junior. The state requires he take 4 classes at school to participate in sports. He is really talented in athletics and in tenth grade started getting college letters. But, he is not as talented in the area of academics. If it werent for sports he most likely would be entering the workforce after high school. He has reading comprehension problems and in middle school I took him out of private school to try to work with him at home. It has been a long road because I also stopped his adhd medication at the same time.

 

So, I am looking for advice. He needs to do get the minimum score on sat or act for the college and ncaa standards (I don't have specific numbers in front of me). I would like to do specific curriculum or prep course for sat or act.

 

My questions are: which test should he be working towards or should he do both,(I don't think act will be the best because he will be tested on more subjects), what are good courses online or in book form to help him prepare, and is it realistic to think this is possible considering he is only just completing algebra 1 and so behind? Thank you for any advice.

 

 

Hi Mel6,

These are extremely good questions.  I would suggest that you start a brand new thread with these questions.  I am just afraid that it might be buried in this one and you may not get the great answers you could if it were new and on the front page.  Please consider just copying this into a new thread.  It sounds as if you could use some advice from the veterans here.  Good luck!

Leslie

[Guest mel6]

Yes I will start another thread. Thank you to those who replied and felt concerned for my situation. I have four kids and they are all gifted in different areas. Now looking back I see that my son, who had a hard time being accepted by his peers and difficulties with teachers and learning because of his inability to understand the world around him and an overactive body that I focused on his other appealing qualities. Like his looks and sense of humor and his athletic abilities. I wanted him to be accepted then and I guess the irony is I am now again wanting him to be "accepted".

 

Well, wrong or right we are where we are and I know God has plans for him so we will do the best we can at this moment.

 

Thank you again.

[katilac]

I need advice! Hi, I partially homeschool my son who is a junior. The state requires he take 4 classes at school to participate in sports. He is really talented in athletics and in tenth grade started getting college letters. But, he is not as talented in the area of academics. If it werent for sports he most likely would be entering the workforce after high school. He has reading comprehension problems and in middle school I took him out of private school to try to work with him at home. It has been a long road because I also stopped his adhd medication at the same time.

 

So, I am looking for advice. He needs to do get the minimum score on sat or act for the college and ncaa standards (I don't have specific numbers in front of me). I would like to do specific curriculum or prep course for sat or act.

 

My questions are: which test should he be working towards or should he do both,(I don't think act will be the best because he will be tested on more subjects), what are good courses online or in book form to help him prepare, and is it realistic to think this is possible considering he is only just completing algebra 1 and so behind? Thank you for any advice.

 

Here are some general thoughts; I do not know anything about sports or NCAA. 

 

He should take one or the other. They are different style tests, and taking one will let him focus his effort. You can read about some of the differences at this link: http://www.princetonreview.com/sat-act.aspx

 

Because this is going to be an important decision for him, I would probably buy the ACT or SAT? book they recommend in the last paragraph. 

 

I would have him take a practice test ASAP to get a handle on where his score is. If he is struggling in Algebra 1, he will have a very hard time on the math section, but if he is getting it, he actually has a chance of doing okay - about 40% of the math section is pre-algebra and beginning algebra!

 

You can see the breakdown here:  http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/descriptions/mathcontent.html

and they give more info on all of the subtests. 

 

Are his reading problems documented? If so, he can probably get test accommodations, such as more time or a quiet room. 

 

The NCAA requirements vary quite a bit from division to division; do you know what division he is aiming for? 

[Musicmom]

One thing I suggested to my students was that you don't necessarily have to write the essay every time when you practice.  I googled ACT writing prompts and came up with a ton of them.  I had them brainstorm how they would answer the prompt for 5 minutes: brief outline, mapping, however they liked to prewrite..  Have them do 2 or 3 prompts per day this way.  Then once a week, have them write one out in the amount of time they have for the ACT.  That gets them thinking about the prompts which was the hardest for my son and some of my students.

 

In addition to the above, I found another helpful technique for my dd was to write a couple of essays (from googled, real ACT prompts) in one sitting, but untimed.  Then go back and revise them, looking at how to make them more like the sample essays that score high.  It helps with getting words flowing and actually fleshing out the ideas in a logical manner. Once your dc has a feel for that, it can be easier to do it under pressure without blanking, and you can add in the timing element.

 

Another helpful preparation technique (again, untimed at first, then under pressure) is to identify the positions that could be taken on the issue in the prompt and brainstorm the arguments/points for each.  Then pick the position that's easiest to argue (your dc does not have to personally agree with it.)