How do your D.C. Prep for ACT?

[JadeOrchidSong]

Can you share your D.C.'s ACT prep experience? 

Ds took PreACT last April as a 9th grader. He will take PreAct again in a week. I just want him to keep having the testing experience and also see if he has improved on his math score. He will take ACT next spring in his junior year. I am gathering info about how to prep for it. I signed him up for TPS fall semester ACT prep but then dropped it because I think I can probably guide him through this myself. 

[JadeOrchidSong]

Sorry, it should be dc, not D.C. 

[klmama]

We just used old tests to practice.  ACT has a big red book of tests.  First test for baseline score, then go over every answer explanation, both right and wrong answers.  Test again, go over all explanations.  If you have enough time, you can have them do just one test section a day, instead of a full test, so it's not so much to do at once.  

[Kalypso]

1 hour ago, klmama said:

We just used old tests to practice.  ACT has a big red book of tests.  First test for baseline score, then go over every answer explanation, both right and wrong answers.  Test again, go over all explanations.  If you have enough time, you can have them do just one test section a day, instead of a full test, so it's not so much to do at once.  

This is what we did to prepare also.

[Julie of KY]

We practice initially with unlimited time so that we have a baseline score of what they could make without a time limit as well as a general guess as to how much faster they need to do. We review all missed questions as well as ones they mark with a question mark. I always go over punctuation rules used on the ACT. Practice with old tests and directed practice at specifics that are missed. 

[mirabillis]

my ds practice extensively in jr year fall for psat/sat. took all 8 full-length practice tests they offered, went over all missed questions in between, did khan academy for a few months every day, read the practice sat book. after the sat, i got the sat reading book to refine his reading score and then he took the act. he had taken at least 3 practice tests - would have taken more but were pressed for time. and he got a 35 on first attempt. my advice, practice tests. practice tests. full-length 3 hour practice tests, as many as you can get your hands on. he was already super strong in math (currently in ap calc as a jr) so that certainly helped. but practice tests b/c it's not always the 'what' they test but the 'how' they phrase said question... and like others have said, get them used to the time limit.

[LisaKinVA]

Practice Test; Review what is missed; Practice Test; Review what is missed... repeat!

My dd took the ACT in 8th grade, but we've focused exclusively on SAT for NMSQT in high school She took the SAT in December (one and done), and she wants to take the ACT this Sept to see if she can get a perfect score.  We won't start prepping for it until June, though.  I have some ACT prep books. All practice tests will be in "testing conditions" meaning, printed exams, with timers set for each section and breaks as outlined.  

I will probably have my 9th grader do the same things, and have him take that test as well... (we need one for dual enrollment sophomore year).  After that, he'll start studying for the PSAT/SAT instead (pretty sure -- his scores have tracked like his sister's, so he should at least try).

 

 

[Lanny]

This link is for ACT Academy:   https://academy.act.org/

This link is about their ACT Online preparation:  

https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-preparation/act-online-prep.html

What my DD used last year was an online prep ACT partnered with Kaplan Academy to provide. It had recorded video lessons the students could watch (I think approximately 20 or 30 hours of those?) and occasional Live meetings with an instructor, where the students could ask questions.  Last year DD had access to that and I think it was $100 for 6 weeks.  The last time I saw what seems to be that same course, it was on the ACT.ORG web site and was $100 for I think 6 months.  My DD found that more helpful than the studying she did for the SAT using Khan Academy, which is Free. I'm not sure what the URL is for that, but at that price per month, it seems like something you might search for and consider.

This link is on the Kaplan Academy web site:  https://www.kaptest.com/act but those are very expensive options, so hopefully you can find what my DD used on the ACT.ORG web site

[2_girls_mommy]

Mine did the Kaplan ACT course as well. She just took it for the first time last weekend, so we don't know how she did yet. She knows it wasn't a perfect score, lol. She also did Kahn SAT prep for quite a while before that. She's wrapping up her junior year. We plan to have her do the SAT in June with tge Latin subject test, then she will probably do more Kahn and Kaplan practice and take both the SAT and ACT one more time her senior year. 

[regentrude]

RealACT test prep book