Best ACT/SAT Prep Book?

[Liz CA]

Ds has taken the SAT before but never the ACT.

What are the fundamental differences and do the prep books address those?

[My3Boys]

My ds is taking the ACT in 6 weeks. I would like the answer to this too.

[Carmen_and_Company]

Taz used the Xiggi test prep method that consists of studying tests issued by the testing companies for test practice and no others. In your case, The Real ACT book (Red book that includes 3 real ACT tests). Taz prep books such as Barron's, Gruber's, Maximium SAT, and Rocket Riew for gleening test taking tips. He did not complete ANY of the example questions or tests in any of the prep books, and only completed the tests in the Official ACT & SAT books along with the 10 Real SAT books (Math, sentence completions & critical reading sections only in the 10 Real SAT books) .

 

The Xiggi SAT Prep Method:

 

 

The SAT is a logic/reasoning test, while the ACT is a content test on subjects usually taught through 12th grade.

 

The Sat penalizes the tester for missed questions, the ACT does not.

 

Your dc should sit both tests, as he may do better on the ACT than the SAT. I don't know of any college or university that does not accept the ACT.

[creekland]

Our favorite test prep books are Barrons. We also have ours do the real (previous) tests as mentioned above, but when I've asked the two of mine which they felt better prepared them, they both said Barrons (though they thought both were worthwhile). I've had them look at a couple of others, but neither has liked them.

 

Actually, now that my mind is starting to get more in gear, I did buy a new one for my middle son as he's getting ready for the ACT in April. I'm not at home to look at the title right now, but it's something to the effect of getting a 36 on the ACT. Middle son told me a week or so ago that he thought that book was superb. He's already testing into the 30's on the ACT. We'll see what he gets on the real thing. He's just a sophomore, so it's not critical, but a good score would be nice.

 

The ACT is more knowledge, the SAT is more critical thinking. My kids do well on both. The oldest did slightly better on the ACT. We'll find out with the middle son after April's scores. (He hasn't done the SAT yet, but has PSAT scores.) I see no reason why kids shouldn't do both. One can submit the better score to interested colleges. Since my oldest did well on both, he submitted both scores. It might not have helped, but it sure didn't hurt.

 

And yes, don't do a pure guess on the SAT (penalties on all wrong answers), but feel free to do so on the ACT (no penalties).

[Brindee]

 

And yes, don't do a pure guess on the SAT (penalties on all wrong answers), but feel free to do so on the ACT (no penalties).

So if they don't know the answer for sure it's better to just leave it blank? Do they penalize the "not answered" questions?

[newbie]

So if they don't know the answer for sure it's better to just leave it blank? Do they penalize the "not answered" questions?

 

I dont know about SAT, but ACT is a definite do not leave blank , if possible. Any guess is better than no guess.

 

So, when they hear the five min. warning, just start filling in bubbles.

[Jane in NC]

I think that it would be a good idea for most students to take a look at the Real ACT book beforehand just to get an idea of what is expected on the science portion of the test. Usually students are interpreting graphs and tables--not hard to do but for some reason this part of the test throws some kids for a loop.

 

Also, if a student is opting into the writing portion of the test, I would seek out some sample prompts. Often the ACT writing prompt is more applicable to students in traditional school settings than homeschools. We had to work on some writing strategies for this.

[creekland]

So if they don't know the answer for sure it's better to just leave it blank? Do they penalize the "not answered" questions?

 

Yes, on the SAT the student gets a penalty for a wrong answer. I believe it's a quarter point, but didn't look it up, I'm relying on memory. They get 0 points for an unanswered question and (I believe) 1 point for a correct answer. The raw score is later given an SAT score. Therefore, if they are making a complete guess, it's not worth it to fill it in as they are most likely going to be penalized. If they are guessing between 2 answers, it's generally recommended they try it.

 

The ACT treats a wrong answer and an unanswered question the same, so one might as well guess.

[creekland]

I should add... our library carries some of the study books. I've bought others, but most we simply borrow.

[Brindee]

I dont know about SAT, but ACT is a definite do not leave blank , if possible. Any guess is better than no guess.

 

So, when they hear the five min. warning, just start filling in bubbles.

 

Yes, on the SAT the student gets a penalty for a wrong answer. I believe it's a quarter point, but didn't look it up, I'm relying on memory. They get 0 points for an unanswered question and (I believe) 1 point for a correct answer. The raw score is later given an SAT score. Therefore, if they are making a complete guess, it's not worth it to fill it in as they are most likely going to be penalized. If they are guessing between 2 answers, it's generally recommended they try it.

 

The ACT treats a wrong answer and an unanswered question the same, so one might as well guess.

Thankyou for your answers!

[KnitWit]

We prefer the Princeton Review books. They did a good job of teaching test taking *strategies*.

 

We used The College Board SAT book for the practice tests, since they put out the test.

 

I think there are probably many ways to skin this cat. ;) But, this is what worked wonderfully for us.

 

Oh, my dd also used Chalkdust SAT Math prep course.

 

GOOD LUCK!!! :)