Anita in NC Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 He said that he thought he did okay but that he ran out of time before answering all the questions in a section. He did practice sections at home over the last month and always seemed to have a problem completely finishing up a test subject (i.e. science section) in the allotted time. What have been others experiences with the test? Do you think that the speed part comes just from more practice or with maturity or both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 My 10th grader took it this morning. He took it in February and scored decently in all areas except reading. That was really weird because that is usually one of his high scores (reading and science are best). In talking with others about the February test, I found that others had problems with the reading. Ds felt he did much better this time. He said the reading section was much "easier" this time. I like to see how their "feelings" match up with "reality" :-) With his LD I find it interesting to hear him talk about the test and then see his performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 My dd didnt finish all the math, I think its a test taking strategy. It probably takes a couple times to conquer it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I think it's a combo of learning more and maturity. Middle son didn't finish reading or science his first time taking the test either and had to spend time with practice tests improving speed - not a day or two of practice, but a few weeks or months of practice albeit, not daily. He said science has actually come the easiest now that he's mostly done statistics as his stats class (using an AP book) has taught him how to read graphs and charts more quickly with accuracy. He thought this morning's test was the easiest he had done (in reality or practice) and is seriously hoping for high 30's. Time will tell. There are [almost] always "idiot errors." If it was an easy test all around, any "idiot errors" could cost him dearly with a harsh curve. Only time will tell. For this last test he spent about 2 weeks doing parts of practice tests daily (except Sunday) just to keep his speed up. He did two or three sections (not tests, but sections) per day. In 10th grade I didn't worry about so much practice - he hardly did any. By 11th grade it counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 When our sons prepared for the ACT and SAT, their math skills were in line with the test requirements, and their reading/vocabulary was strong. They did not work on the tests by sections, and they did not work on test strategies. Since their skills were in place, they prepped by taking an entire test on a Friday or Saturday morning at the same time as the actual test. I timed the sections according to the directions. In other words, we tried to simulate the test conditions. Practicing sections may not build the stamina to go through the entire test with focus and speed. You might want to give the whole-test method a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Getting used to the timing is part of it but I think you just have to know your math well enough to do the problems quickly. Is your 9th grader through Algebra 1 and 2 and Geometry? I think my dd is slow about math in general. She gets As at home but I've never timed her. Her english scores were so high and math so not that she repeated the test today after some timed practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 My son is already doing pre-calc and trig. He loves math. He said that he thought he could get the problems correct but just ran out of time for some of them, especially those on the science section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 He said that he thought he did okay but that he ran out of time before answering all the questions in a section. He did practice sections at home over the last month and always seemed to have a problem completely finishing up a test subject (i.e. science section) in the allotted time. What have been others experiences with the test? Do you think that the speed part comes just from more practice or with maturity or both? Hi Anita, My dd (10th grade) took the ACT this morning also. She thought it went quite well in general, but she thought the science section was very hard, and she heard other students comment that they thought it was hard too... Like your son, dd also found herself running out of time on both the reading and science sections in her practice tests (she did 2 full-length practice tests in the past month). She'd get through them, but just barely, and was rushing so fast at the end that she was missing many questions she would have gotten right otherwise. I thought she just needed more practice and experience to build up her speed, so I looked for and got her a book with just practice tests in it, so she could work especially on those sections. In my search, I also ran across another prep book--Barron's ACT 36--that proved invaluable. I highly recommend it. Dd didn't have time to go through it in detail, but what she did learn was very illuminating. Turns out pacing is key on the reading and science sections. The book points out that many students get bogged down and are unable to finish these sections (esp science), and it offers some very effective pacing strategies. Dd practiced these strategies last week and had her pacing plan firmly in mind as she went into the test today. She said it was a life-saver. She was able to finish both the reading and science sections with a couple minutes left to go back and check her work.:D Just thought I'd share this, since it was so helpful to my dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellecv Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 A few hints from a professional test prep tutor: All the questions on the exam are worth the same amount, regardless of difficulty. Many kids get bogged down feeling they have to answer every question in order. Students should go through the exam quickly, answering only the questions that make sense to them on the first reading. This way they answer as many "easy' questions as possible before time runs out. After they have tackled the easy questions, they should return to the harder ones. That way if they run out of time, they've only left the questions blank that they were unsure of anyway. The reading passages are in the same order every time. Students should know what types of passages they are best and weakest at. Tackle the passages in order from strongest to weakest. Math questions get harder as the section progresses. This is one section where rushing really hurts. Accuracy on the easier questions is more important than rushing through easy questions (and making careless mistakes) in order to get to very difficult questions. BTW, unlike on the SAT, there is guessing penalty on the ACT. So students should never leave questions blank! Hope those hints help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 BTW, unlike on the SAT, there is guessing penalty on the ACT. So students should never leave questions blank! I believe you mean that there is no penalty for guessing on the ACT. Thanks for the tips! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 In my search, I also ran across another prep book--Barron's ACT 36--that proved invaluable. I highly recommend it. Dd didn't have time to go through it in detail, but what she did learn was very illuminating. Turns out pacing is key on the reading and science sections. The book points out that many students get bogged down and are unable to finish these sections (esp science), and it offers some very effective pacing strategies. I'll second this book recommendation. Actually, middle son will second it. He said he was very glad we had it and it's the number one book he recommends, but he thinks it's good to have another to supplement it. We bought Kaplan's study book this time after he reviewed several of them at the bookstore (instead of online). For earlier tests he used McGraw Hill and the Real ACT book. I asked him which he liked the best of these and he said Kaplan or McGraw Hill. McGraw Hill gives more of "how to do" the questions - no teaching of tricks, etc, (that he can recall). Kaplan does some teaching, but a bit more of the strategy too. One note about Kaplan's... it comes with some practice tests on a CD and some of their answers are wrong. They aren't wrong in an "I disagree with them" type of wrong. They are undoubtedly wrong in the aspect that their own words in the solution reasoning disagree with the question asked (sometimes different numbers, sometimes different things being looked for). Even with this, he liked the book. Since it was easy to tell where they didn't proofread, those were annoying, but manageable. His least favorite practice book was the Real ACT one as it gave tests, but very little "help." Just two cents from the kiddo. With regards to science, I think having more classes under his belt has also been helpful. Again, he tells me the best "help" for this has been the strategy plus taking Stats - a course that uses more graphs and charts than any of his science courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 We had a couple of books that I had purchased. Gruber's Complete Act Guide was HORRIBLE. There were so many typos, incorrect answers, horrible practice questions. I thought that it was just DS complaining but I did some of the books with him and it just needs to go in the trash. It was just awful. We also have McGraw Hill's ACT book that had practice tests and that was quite good. He also did the online ACT test at the ACT website. I'll check out the other book that someone suggested. Oh well, he'll get to try again next year. If nothing else it is good practice and counts as his required standardized test. Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 If he's a current 9th grader he has two more years before it really counts, unless you're planning on graduating him early. If you have it around you, let him do the PSAT in Oct of next year to see how he does on that test. If he does better on it, you can try that again junior year for scholarship possibilities, then head toward the SAT instead of the ACT. Colleges accept either and many people do better on one or the other. My genetic line just appears to do better on the ACT (so far). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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