How to score well on the ACT/SAT

[busymama7]

I am feeling a need to re structure my homeschooling methods and am feeling overwhelmed.  My oldest two have graduated and while they are both going to college, their ACT's were only in the low 20s.  They were both early and voracious readers.  We did mostly ambleside online/charlotte mason and one year of Sonlight core 100.  One started CC halfway through 11th grade, the other did an online school for 1.5 years and earned straight As and then did college courses for her senior year.  They were good students.  We did almost no test prep though and our state didnt require testing of homeschoolers so they had never taken a test before (content tests at home and math, but nothing like the state yearly testing)

 

My next two would like to go to a more competive school and I have 5 more coming up the ranks behind them.  I feel that my language arts has been inadaquate and that is where my focus mostly is.  I struggle between feeling like I need to give them a highly structured language arts curriculum and knowing from experience that they only thing they learn all that well is what we do aloud and together.  My oldest two did growing with grammar one year, around 4th-5th grade and by the end, they had literally learned nothing.  Had no idea what a noun or verb was.  We moved to doing a small amount of grammar on the board together daily and they were able to learn and retain what we did.  They were good writers and so I just left it there.  

 

I am finding with my weaknesses and the number of kids, that independant, structured workbook type curriculum might actually be the way to go.  But, I cant seem to settle on what that should be.  I love IEW writing and we either do it at home or at co-op so I dont really need something that encompases writing, at least in theory.  But, Im very weak with things like Lit Analysis and really dont do it at all unless its in the curriculum.  I have teaching the classics, but I havent gotten through all the videos yet and it really over whelms me.

 

My just leaving 8th and 5th graders were using rod and staff spelling this year and it was amazing.  I realised how much I really had missed with my olders doing LA a little less formally.  We did Analytical Grammar with the 8th and 10th graders but only got to just under 1/3 way this year.  5th grader got about as far in the junior.  It really was a lot of work and maybe overkill?  

 

10th grader did Learning Language Arts through Literature and it was ok.  He said he learned a lot.  I didnt think it was enough lit reading at all but it was a get it done kind of year for him due to some outside committments.

 

Im going back and forth with just dropping all the piecing things together nonsense and getting a solid, full LA curriculum and I just cant settle on one.  I've looked at Language Lessons through Literature, Jenny Phillips the Good and Beautiful (doesnt go high enough for my needs) and doing something like CLE or Rod and Staff.  I did try R&S English a long time ago and it was just too much.  Too much writing etc.  Thats why we went to Growing with Grammar due to the workbook but they retained nothing.   But then I look at programs and they are more than I want.  We do as much as possible together so things like art, picture study, poetry memorization, I dont really want in a LA program for just one child.  

 

I just want to settle on something rigorous, yet easy to implement daily, fairly independant but only the very minimum of basics so we still have time for reading lots of good books together and such.  

 

Kids in the fall will be 1st, 3rd (dyslexic, only 1/2 was through AAR2 so not really looking for him), 6th, 9th and 11th.  The 11th may be doing some CC but is also dyslexic and needs some more time of doing high school at home as well.  and two toddlers.

 

I cant believe how much Im struggling here.  What curriculum do I want?  Maybe I should just stick with what we are doing basically and keep plodding through AG?  It seems that my weakest areas for implementing are Grammar and Literature Analysis although we read aloud A LOT.    

 

What we are using that I like

 

AAR

will add AAS for 1st and 3rd next year

IEW

Pentime handwriting (1st,3rd and 6th)

Rod and staff spelling (6th and 9th, told him he had to finish the 8th grade book as part of his 9th grade english)

 

What Im not thrilled about:

 

Analytical Grammar and Junior

Learning Language Arts through Literature (it was OK)

 

Something like language lessons through literature appeals to me except there are parts I don't really want (poetry, spelling dictation).  

 

I think I can improve scores with a more traditional approach to LA but I can't figure out what I want.  Im ok with either Christian or Secular materials.

 

Edited June 13, 2016 by busymama7

[regentrude]

What were their sub scores? was the English section really the weakness?

 

 

 

We did almost no test prep though

 

I think this may be the crucial reason for the low scores. Even for strong students it is necessary to do some targeted test prep to be familiar with the style of questions and to drill the speed.

It does not require a full blown language arts program to excel on the English section of the ACT; being a strong reader with a solid intuition for grammar plus some focused test prep should suffice. But without the test prep, the students are shortchanged.

 

Similar for math: the best prep is a solid math program throughout schooling plus targeted test prep in the weeks before.

The science section needs practice and drill since it is mainly a speed reading exercise.

[wapiti]

My two cents:  scores are going to be a function of a number of factors besides overall education, including natural intellectual ability and test prep.  However, note that learning issues can seriously impact scores, particularly if there is a processing speed issue (affecting how quickly answers can get recorded) as well as reading speed - the ACT involves a lot of reading speed and speed in general.  The SAT does too, but might not be quite as tightly-timed as the ACT.

 

I would definitely engage in extensive test prep at home and I would strongly consider whether your kids with learning issues might possibly be eligible for accommodations.

 

For grammar, it would seem most efficient for the older ones to simply finish up Analytical Grammar rather than switch to something else.

[busymama7]

Thank you for the imput.  I alternate between telling myself to just relax, do what we do and then do test prep and panicking that I need something new.

 

My oldest two do not have learning challenges.  My 3rd is on a waitlist for an official diagnosis and we are waiting to do testing for him until we have it.  We are planning some pretty heavy prep for him at least and really all of them now.  

 

My oldest got around 28/29 on math and science and somewhere aroud 18 for english.  That surprised me as he always did well across the curriculum.  My 2nd, had almost the exact scores flipped, but that wasnt a suprise as she was a weak math student and hated science.   I feel like Im set on how to teach math and such.  Its the English that is throwing me off.  My attempt at a natural, intuitive method just didnt seem to work all that great, at least not for my oldest.  In addition, my next two, I know they dont learn that way.  They need direct instruction.  I want to be told that AG is just way too much :(  It was a lot of work and they had a hard time seeing the point of it. And there are lots of other things to spend high school english time on and an hour of grammar a day really wasnt it.  Thats why I like the idea of a course that includes everything.  Except what I dont want it to :)

 

I also like the idea of finding something I like and just moving through it.   I just wish I could find the most amazing awsome LA that I love.  The other reason I have shied away from a textbook curriculum is that I didnt want the "reading".  We were happy with SWR and Pathway readers and now we are happy with AAR since we switched over.  I dont like the snipets of real literature.  I want to read lots of really good books and talk and write about them. But I need a bit more guidance then that.  

[Arcadia]

Test prep. I made my "guinea pig" do three sets of practice tests by ACT. So approximately 3hrs x 3 = 9hrs of prep.

While he reads like crazy, it was familiarity with the test format as well as practice coloring of bubbles fast and neat that was helpful.

 

Links to ACT practice tests

2015/16

http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf

 

2011/12

http://www.eknowledge.com/partners/autoemail/2011-12_ACT.pdf

 

2007/08

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED499163.pdf

 

The same kid did the four free practice tests for the new SAT. He just took the SAT this month so no idea how he score. He wasn't stress due to being familiar with the format already.

 

Link to the four SAT practice tests and answer keys

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice/full-length-practice-tests

 

ETA:

The English and the Reading section of ACT target different test taking skills. Which one was weaker?

Mine had Reading section 2 points below the English section which was what is normal for him.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Arcadia

[mumto2]

Test prep books are available at many libraries. We practice at home by taking practice tests, correcting, and learning why the wrong answers were wrong.

[busymama7]

Test prep books are available at many libraries. We practice at home by taking practice tests, correcting, and learning why the wrong answers were wrong.

 My second did this.  She probably took 4-5 full practice tests.  she acutally scored better on the actual one by 4-5 points then the practice.

 

We have discussed this at length, my husband and I and we really do feel like their education was lacking and this was a big cause of them not scoring as well as we hoped.  I do not have thier scores in front of me so I cant give more specifics but really we are just looking ahead.  What can we do starting in upper elementary and middle school to lay a strong english foundation.  I really feel I need a set, structured progam that is enjoyeable and fairly short. 

[gstharr]

Though not act/sat level yet, we start preparing for all standardized test several months before the day. A few months out, I'll tear out a page of math, a page of reading, a page of analogy out of a practice guide.  We do 3 or so of these packages a week..  This helps me determine our area of focus.  About 2 months out, we add in a whole section  of the practice test ( e.g. reading comp)  on Saturday, then another whole section (e.g. data analysis) on Sunday.  Finally, on the last month, we start doing timed whole practice tests.  The last couple of the practice tests, we do in places where there will be noise and distractions (parks, malls, in front of the television) .   Well, this is what we do.  My son has always had excellent test scores. 

[busymama7]

Though not act/sat level yet, we start preparing for all standardized test several months before the day. A few months out, I'll tear out a page of math, a page of reading, a page of analogy out of a practice guide. We do 3 or so of these packages a week.. This helps me determine our area of focus. About 2 months out, we add in a whole section of the practice test ( e.g. reading comp) on Saturday, then another whole section (e.g. data analysis) on Sunday. Finally, on the last month, we start doing timed whole practice tests. The last couple of the practice tests, we do in places where there will be noise and distractions (parks, malls, in front of the television) . Well, this is what we do. My son has always had excellent test scores.

Ugh. Yeah this is so not my style. I don't have any desire to spend so much time on tests. Except I want them to do well. What a conundrum 😒

[busymama7]

Any experience with climbing to good English? Or spectrum language arts?

[amsunshine]

Khan Academy has free SAT test prep that just started up with the new SAT.  You can also have them sign up for the free Daily Question app for the SAT.  It's probably the easiest thing you can do right now, and it also seems to be getting pretty good reviews.  Start them off this summer with some assessment tests to see where their weaknesses are and you can focus your curriculum on their weak areas.

 

I don't know the exact ages of your kids, but what has seemed to work well for us so far is First Language Lessons 1-4 and then Hake Grammar.  We did Singapore Math 1-8 (approximately) and then switched to Saxon.  I also have them do ALEKS for review and reinforcement in the summertime.  All of these programs have been very solid preparation for the SAT.  I would not recommend Growing with Grammar -- although we used it for year 2 of First Language Lessons as additional written reinforcement.  It was not as strong of a program as FLL.  That said, FLL is very teacher intensive, which may not be what you want.  I also sat with my girls and we went through the lessons together in Hake for the first two years.

 

I also highly recommend SAT preparation via Khan, or other printed materials including:  PWN the SAT (for math), and Erica Meltzer's books (for the language arts sections).  As other posters have said, SAT preparation is important, even for those who are strong in both language arts and math.

[Arcadia]

. What can we do starting in upper elementary and middle school to lay a strong english foundation. I really feel I need a set, structured progam that is enjoyeable and fairly short.

I can only comment on what worked for my kids that took very little time.

 

Diagramming sentences - took my kids about 15mins per day in 3rd grade. We used K12 LA as part of a public charter but any diagramming workbook would have worked. It laid a nice foundation for my kids for checking for granma errors. My oldest intuit grammar but my youngest need to be explicitly taught.

E.g a diagramming workbook in pdf

http://sjsmiddleschool.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/3/2/16324226/sentence_diagramming_ms.pdf

 

Reading detective workbook which took 10~15 mins per day. We used A1 and B1 before grade level. I think we used B1 in 5th grade. The workbooks are similar in style to test prep but is a comprehension passage per day.

http://www.criticalthinking.com/reading-detective.html

 

I don't think my kids find them enjoyable, more like they don't mind, but they like that both resources don't use up much time.

[busymama7]

I can only comment on what worked for my kids that took very little time.

 

Diagramming sentences - took my kids about 15mins per day in 3rd grade. We used K12 LA as part of a public charter but any diagramming workbook would have worked. It laid a nice foundation for my kids for checking for granma errors. My oldest intuit grammar but my youngest need to be explicitly taught.

E.g a diagramming workbook in pdf

http://sjsmiddleschool.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/3/2/16324226/sentence_diagramming_ms.pdf

 

Reading detective workbook which took 10~15 mins per day. We used A1 and B1 before grade level. I think we used B1 in 5th grade. The workbooks are similar in style to test prep but is a comprehension passage per day.

http://www.criticalthinking.com/reading-detective.html

 

I don't think my kids find them enjoyable, more like they don't mind, but they like that both resources don't use up much time.

 

 

 

Yes what I thought was working was diagraming on the board like you said. 10 min a day and I could cover all of them at the same time.  They liked the interaction with each other, classroom style.  My oldest 4 were born in 5 years :)

 

Thanks for the reminder of the reading dectective.  I had forgotten about it and I want to use it.  Im thinking I will get the software though, so it can be re-used for other kids.  Does it give them a score too?

[busymama7]

Khan Academy has free SAT test prep that just started up with the new SAT.  You can also have them sign up for the free Daily Question app for the SAT.  It's probably the easiest thing you can do right now, and it also seems to be getting pretty good reviews.  Start them off this summer with some assessment tests to see where their weaknesses are and you can focus your curriculum on their weak areas.

 

I don't know the exact ages of your kids, but what has seemed to work well for us so far is First Language Lessons 1-4 and then Hake Grammar.  We did Singapore Math 1-8 (approximately) and then switched to Saxon.  I also have them do ALEKS for review and reinforcement in the summertime.  All of these programs have been very solid preparation for the SAT.  I would not recommend Growing with Grammar -- although we used it for year 2 of First Language Lessons as additional written reinforcement.  It was not as strong of a program as FLL.  That said, FLL is very teacher intensive, which may not be what you want.  I also sat with my girls and we went through the lessons together in Hake for the first two years.

 

I also highly recommend SAT preparation via Khan, or other printed materials including:  PWN the SAT (for math), and Erica Meltzer's books (for the language arts sections).  As other posters have said, SAT preparation is important, even for those who are strong in both language arts and math.

 

 

Ok, so the schools my kids are looking at want the ACT.  Would the prep be similar?  Im still really confused about the changes due to common core too.

[katilac]

Ok, so the schools my kids are looking at want the ACT.  Would the prep be similar?  Im still really confused about the changes due to common core too.

 

They are similar, but testive.com has free ACT prep. 

[amsunshine]

Ok, so the schools my kids are looking at want the ACT.  Would the prep be similar?  Im still really confused about the changes due to common core too.

 

Well, the new SAT is more similar to the ACT now.  That said, it's probably not a good idea to prep for the SAT if one will only take the ACT.  That's interesting.  I've never heard of a school asking for the ACT in lieu of the SAT.  We've started researching schools and haven't come across that - if anything,  the schools seem to value them equally.  

[Arcadia]

Yes what I thought was working was diagraming on the board like you said. 10 min a day and I could cover all of them at the same time.

...

Thanks for the reminder of the reading dectective. I had forgotten about it and I want to use it. Im thinking I will get the software though, so it can be re-used for other kids. Does it give them a score too?

My kids did diagramming individually on their workbooks. They did whatever was their grade level. My oldest was about two levels ahead in grammar so I could not combine them for grammar.

 

For reading detective, I used the soft copy and there was an answer key so I could grade my kids work fast then go over with them why their answers are not what was wanted. So we did a passage a day. My oldest did B1 while youngest did A1. It really help improved their standardized test scores results for reading comprehension as they caught on to test taking skills so for <15mins per weekday it was worth it. I think my kids did it over a summer actually.

 

ETA:

My oldest who did not follow common core did well enough for the ACT that I am looking at superscoring.

http://blog.prepscholar.com/colleges-that-superscore-act-complete-list

Edited June 14, 2016 by Arcadia

[mumto2]

Both of my dc's did the ACT last Saturday for their second time hoping to up their scores. They did five timed exams last week, one a day. Dd was determined to do everything possible for the score she wants and ds needs 1 more point for his goals. I think familiarity with the exams and learning to be aware of the time ups scores substantially.

 

Now some curriculum we have used over the years that I think may have helped with English and reading scores would probably be Wordly Wise, Vocabulary from the Roots Up, and Shirley English. Not every one of these every single year. We also did one of the Reading Detective books. There was an analogy book too.

 

From watching my kids being really good at grammar helps add points. Dd loves foreign languages and was a star with grammar books always where Ds always has simply done well enough because he dislikes it. Dd takes the ACT pretty effortlessly in those sections which points to being solid with grammar. She coached her brother which hopefully will help him on his score.

 

For math I think one of the important things is if the student has completed Algebra 1 and 2 and geometry. Any solid math curriculum will do. There is a bit of trig also but you will get a pretty solid score without the trig. The exam is incremental in terms of difficulty so the first questions are the easiest (I believe the SAT mixes them up). What this means is your student needs to get all of the first ones right and be able to work productively as long as possible.

 

Eta, This isn't a curriculum tip that to many will sound silly but try to give your test taker an opportunity to actually be in a school building before they take the test. My kids had been in auditoriums and cafeterias but never in a classroom which is where they needed to take their first ACT. They had to sit at a school desk which was also a new experience. They had a power outage at the school during the first exam so the whole affair was unnerving physically in general which is why we went back for round two. Personally I think being comfortable will add a point!

Edited June 14, 2016 by mumto2

[The Girls' Mom]

For us, test prep was the key.  You can get practice tests for free.  I had mine take them at home, timed.  I then went through the tests and wrote down the areas they needed to work on.  We also used "Up Your Score" for the ACT, which gave a lot of test taking tips, and a Barron's ACT book.  One of my dds went pretty meticulously through the books for about 4-5 weeks before her 2nd test.  Her score went from a 24 to a 30.  Her main issue was less about knowledge, but more about understanding what they were asking and knowing what type of answer they were looking for.  

Edited June 14, 2016 by The Girls' Mom

[SarahW]

 

 

My oldest got around 28/29 on math and science and somewhere aroud 18 for english.  That surprised me as he always did well across the curriculum.  My 2nd, had almost the exact scores flipped, but that wasnt a suprise as she was a weak math student and hated science.  

 

I'm a bit confused here. One kid scored well above average and a bit below average. The other scored a bit below average and well above average. And you did largely the same curriculum with them both?

 

I don't have a lot of time, so I'm just going to be blunt here. It doesn't sound like a curriculum problem, necessarily, it sounds like a motivation issue. Kids have things they like and things they don't. Standardized tests don't have wiggle room for speeding through things and slopping something together to make mom happy and going on to something you have more interest in.

 

If you want to raise the composite score, I'd look at shoring up the subjects that an individual child is weak in or has little interest in. Getting a subscore from 18 to 22 is going to be easier and do more for the composite than anything else.

[EmilyGF]

Here's how I scored well on the SAT (ages and ages ago...):

 

I worked in a furniture store all day every Saturday. Some of dummy props in the bedroom were old SAT test practice books. Whenever I didn't have a customer to help, I worked through a practice test. Over the course of the year, I worked through a lot of practice problems and read through strategies to approach them with. 

 

I really think being familiar with the test structure and strategies help. That's generally what they teach in prep class, to my knowledge, not anything fundamental.

 

Emily

[busymama7]

I'm a bit confused here. One kid scored well above average and a bit below average. The other scored a bit below average and well above average. And you did largely the same curriculum with them both?

 

I don't have a lot of time, so I'm just going to be blunt here. It doesn't sound like a curriculum problem, necessarily, it sounds like a motivation issue. Kids have things they like and things they don't. Standardized tests don't have wiggle room for speeding through things and slopping something together to make mom happy and going on to something you have more interest in.

 

If you want to raise the composite score, I'd look at shoring up the subjects that an individual child is weak in or has little interest in. Getting a subscore from 18 to 22 is going to be easier and do more for the composite than anything else.

I appreciate your bluntness. With my oldest, when I saw his English scores I thought that exact thing. He just didn't put enough effort in. That might or might not be true. My daughter did try hard to raise her math score. She was behind in math since about 6-7th grade and just never caught up. If you saw my other thread it's why I'm switching math with one of my other ones. She's going down the same path and I want to fix it now.

 

The thing is that their LA was always pieced together and I feel was just too spotty. I want a simple straight forward curriculum that covers everything and that I can use all the ways through. I think they were left with holes and I know that the next two need even more instruction. I want something I can feel confident is covering the basics over the years. I have also gotten busier and want to be sure nothing is dropped.

 

Also I plan to now do testing yearly so my kids are prepared and familiar with it. I am still trying to figure out what to use though.

[Arcadia]

Besides diagramming, proofreading skills helped. K12 LA explicitly taught my oldest proofreading. We were with a public charter so we just used the curriculum since K12 LA wasn't bad. The benefit from being able to proofread well extends beyond the ACT of course.

 

It doesn't sound like a curriculum problem, necessarily, it sounds like a motivation issue. Kids have things they like and things they don't.

When kids are weaker in certain areas, curriculum that is more suited to them works regardless of whether a child likes the subject or not. It is hard for the child to feel motivated when the child feels defeated by the curriculum.

 

My oldest scored well in sections of the ACT that he is neutral about. He actually do not like grammar/proofreading but he is not going to do badly on tbe english section just to prove how much he doesn't like grammar/proofreading. Still I find something short and sweet that works for him.

 

Curriculum and motivation are just a part of the puzzle. My youngest is much slower at reading than my oldest. Everything being equal, my youngest has a timed test "handicap" (not to the extend of accommodations required) which oldest do not have. Test prep to "beat the clock" benefits my youngest while my oldest already had time to spare during test prep and actual tests.

[Arcadia]

However, note that learning issues can seriously impact scores, particularly if there is a processing speed issue (affecting how quickly answers can get recorded) as well as reading speed - the ACT involves a lot of reading speed and speed in general.

Just had my DS10's scores today and speed did have a big impact on scores. His processing speed is at the 50th percentile, not LD slow but still slow. He tried to do most of English and was exhausted by the effort. He finished about half for Math, Reading and Science. His composite is 7 points lower than DS11 who was too tired to finish science last year but finished the other sections.

 

My two kids ability are about equal for untimed tests. Comparing their ACT scores and how many questions they managed to complete was a good exercise to prep for when it matters a few years down the road.

 

DS10's reading speed has gone up without us doing anything other than him realizing when it is better to use his glasses and when it is better not to. His test scores are higher for the actual ACT than for the ACT practice tests by ACT.

 

ETA:

Test prep really helped this kid. He did very well for English which was great given both kids did not do any formal LA this year. I did bribe him with no formal grammar workbook for 2016/17 if he did well for english :lol: Mr Laidback pulled a 30 for English.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Arcadia

[busymama7]

Just had my DS10's scores today and speed did have a big impact on scores. His processing speed is at the 50th percentile, not LD slow but still slow. He tried to do most of English and was exhausted by the effort. He finished about half for Math, Reading and Science. His composite is 7 points lower than DS11 who was too tired to finish science last year but finished the other sections.

 

My two kids ability are about equal for untimed tests. Comparing their ACT scores and how many questions they managed to complete was a good exercise to prep for when it matters a few years down the road.

 

DS10's reading speed has gone up without us doing anything other than him realizing when it is better to use his glasses and when it is better not to. His test scores are higher for the actual ACT than for the ACT practice tests by ACT.

 

ETA:

Test prep really helped this kid. He did very well for English which was great given both kids did not do any formal LA this year. I did bribe him with no formal grammar workbook for 2016/17 if he did well for english :lol:

 

 

Im really confused by this post.  Are you giving your 10 and 11 year olds the actual ACT? or do they have another grade level adjusted test for preparation purposes?

Edited June 29, 2016 by busymama7

[Arcadia]

Im really confused by this post. Are you giving your 10 and 11 year olds the actual ACT? or do they have another grade level adjusted test for preparation purposes?

Actual ACT. Both kids took the ACT at 10 years old for talent search purpose. They have to do mail in registration as they are under 13. (ETA: paid registration fees by mailing in a check with the form)

 

ETAï¼›

Example of talent search using ACT and SAT

"ACT

 

NUMATS utilizes the ACT test, typically used for college admissions, to provide a more accurate picture of the abilities of advanced students in grades 6 through 9. ACT includes subtests in English, math, reading and science. Registered students arrive to assigned test center at 8:00 am. The test takes between 4–4½ hours to complete. Non-Saturday test dates are for students whose religious observance prohibits testing on Saturdays.

 

SAT

 

NUMATS utilizes the SAT test, typically used for college admissions, to provide a more accurate picture of the abilities of advanced students in grades 6 through 9. SAT includes subtests in critical reading, math and writing. Registered students arrive to assigned test center at 7:45 am. The test takes 4½–5 hours to complete. Non-Saturday test dates are for students whose religious observance prohibits testing on Saturdays. " http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/program/numats#details

Edited June 30, 2016 by Arcadia

[justasque]

Test prep makes a difference.  Certain strategies are different on a standardized test than regular work.  For example, it's often wise for a reading question to read the questions before reading the passage.  For a math question, it often pays to look for an "back door" that will let you work out which of the given answers is right without actually having to work the full problem.  Having some agility with these strategies can really help with time, and thus with getting a better score.  Of course it helps to know the underlying material, but that's only part of the prep necessary.  And even if your state doesn't require it, having taken a few standardized tests in a group setting over the years brings a  comfort level with the setting and the process that can be helpful.  (And it can give you a rough idea of likely percentile scores, so you have a baseline from which to evaluate the ACT/SAT scores and decide if they are likely to be improved with another sitting of the text.)