Shellydon Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Can anyone recommend an ACT online prep course that focuses on tip/tricks for increasing your score? My DD needs to raise her math score by 2 points for scholarships. Her current ACT composite is 30 with reading score at 35 and math at 25. She would like to get up to a 31 or 32 composite. She had taken an live SAT/ACT prep with no change in test scores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Not sure about tips and tricks and there are very different tips and tricks for the ACT and the SAT. This is going back more than a year, so you will need to search around a bit on the ACT web site and also on the Kaplan web site. When DD was preparing for the ACT, the ACT.ORG had a tie-in with Kaplan. She took a course that had a lot of recorded videos the students could watch, as many times as they wanted, plus, some live sessions with an Instructor, where the students could ask the Instructor questions. My DD found that very helpful. Somewhat more so than the Khan Academy she used to prepare for the SAT, which is Free. I believe at that time it was $100 for 2 (?) months, but when I looked, months ago, I believe it was $100 for 6 months. If that's available at that price, it would IMO be a very good place to begin. I hope your DD can improve her Math score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 Thanks Lanny! She it's definitely stronger in language arts than math, but if she's not find she does well. Unfortunately all the standardized tests are timed so it becomes an issue for her. I will take a look at Kaplan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 For two points in math, I would do the ALEKS online ACT math prep course. It teaches the math rather than ACT strategies, and that is likely what she needs at this point. It will give her an assessment when she begins and then she has a choice of topics it deems her 'ready to learn' and she moves through them at her own speed, with more topics opening up as she goes along. It will periodically reassess. It's quicker than using a book because you only review/learn what you have not mastered. $20/month. ime, most students leave points on the table for fairly basic math that they are shaky on or have forgotten. With a 25, I'm guessing that's the case for her as well - don't get me wrong, a 25 is a good score, several points above average, but the ACT does not include a lot of advanced math. If she gets really solid on foundational skills, I bet her score goes up. My other specific recommendations would be: make sure she has the needed formulas in her calculator, make sure she knows her calculator well (buy a new one if hers is awkward to use, they are cheap), and learn when NOT to use the calculator. It doesn't even occur to some kids that certain problems can be solved more quickly without the calculator, and time is everything on the ACT. Most ACT books will address this to some extent, and you can also review a practice test problem by problem, focusing only on figuring out how to recognize no-calculator problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Also, does your dd homeschool? If she does, and you do math at home, I'd strongly consider doing the ALEKS course as her main math program for the four to six weeks before the test. It's all stuff she should know, it's all stuff that will help prepare her for college math, and she will still have time to resume her planned program for the rest of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 I was going to mention the Aleks ACT Math Mastery course and I see it was already mentioned. I don’t know what I think about it yet, so I’m not exactly recommending, and definitely not recommending it as a math curriculum which it is not. I mean it appears most topics do not have videos to teach the relevant topic, it’s just a very deep and organized and pretty problem bank. It may be all she needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 4 hours ago, madteaparty said: I was going to mention the Aleks ACT Math Mastery course and I see it was already mentioned. I don’t know what I think about it yet, so I’m not exactly recommending, and definitely not recommending it as a math curriculum which it is not. I mean it appears most topics do not have videos to teach the relevant topic, it’s just a very deep and organized and pretty problem bank. It may be all she needs. You can always click through for the complete explanation/teaching of a topic, it's just textbook style vs video. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organizedchaos Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 My DD didn't take a prep class, so I will just write about what we used. I would buy the Official ACT Prep Guide for the current year (It is red.) I would have her take every math test in the book and even if she gets the problems right, I would still have her read the explanation of the answer. The ACT is broken down into these components Pre-Algebra (20-25%), Elementary Algebra (15-20%), Intermediate Algebra (15-20%), Coordinate Geometry (15-20%), Plane Geometry (20-25%), and Trigonometry (5-10%), so make sure she has had these courses. Also, if you are able to, buy her an ACT timing watch (with no sound) and have her do practice tests using it and use it when she takes the test. I will link everything I bought my DD for the ACT test. I wish her the best! https://www.amazon.com/Official-2019-2020-Practice-Online-Content/dp/1119580501/ref=sr_1_3?crid=SCL9WWEN107T&keywords=the+official+act+prep+guide+2019-2020&qid=1567013554&s=gateway&sprefix=the+offical+act%2Caps%2C292&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/Pacing-Digital-Timer-Testing-Timers/dp/B009O08AW2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=act+timing+watch&qid=1567013520&s=gateway&sr=8-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 On 8/22/2019 at 11:30 PM, katilac said: For two points in math, I would do the ALEKS online ACT math prep course. It teaches the math rather than ACT strategies, and that is likely what she needs at this point. It will give her an assessment when she begins and then she has a choice of topics it deems her 'ready to learn' and she moves through them at her own speed, with more topics opening up as she goes along. It will periodically reassess. It's quicker than using a book because you only review/learn what you have not mastered. $20/month. ime, most students leave points on the table for fairly basic math that they are shaky on or have forgotten. With a 25, I'm guessing that's the case for her as well - don't get me wrong, a 25 is a good score, several points above average, but the ACT does not include a lot of advanced math. If she gets really solid on foundational skills, I bet her score goes up. My other specific recommendations would be: make sure she has the needed formulas in her calculator, make sure she knows her calculator well (buy a new one if hers is awkward to use, they are cheap), and learn when NOT to use the calculator. It doesn't even occur to some kids that certain problems can be solved more quickly without the calculator, and time is everything on the ACT. Most ACT books will address this to some extent, and you can also review a practice test problem by problem, focusing only on figuring out how to recognize no-calculator problems. Thank you! I had not heard of ALEKS. She is enrolled in pre cal at our homeschool group this year, but I can have her do several weeks of review prior to the October test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, organizedchaos said: My DD didn't take a prep class, so I will just write about what we used. I would buy the Official ACT Prep Guide for the current year (It is red.) I would have her take every math test in the book and even if she gets the problems right, I would still have her read the explanation of the answer. The ACT is broken down into these components Pre-Algebra (20-25%), Elementary Algebra (15-20%), Intermediate Algebra (15-20%), Coordinate Geometry (15-20%), Plane Geometry (20-25%), and Trigonometry (5-10%), so make sure she has had these courses. Also, if you are able to, buy her an ACT timing watch (with no sound) and have her do practice tests using it and use it when she takes the test. I will link everything I bought my DD for the ACT test. I wish her the best! https://www.amazon.com/Official-2019-2020-Practice-Online-Content/dp/1119580501/ref=sr_1_3?crid=SCL9WWEN107T&keywords=the+official+act+prep+guide+2019-2020&qid=1567013554&s=gateway&sprefix=the+offical+act%2Caps%2C292&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/Pacing-Digital-Timer-Testing-Timers/dp/B009O08AW2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=act+timing+watch&qid=1567013520&s=gateway&sr=8-2 Thanks!!! Edited August 29, 2019 by Shellydon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organizedchaos Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Shellydon said: Thanks!? Edited August 29, 2019 by organizedchaos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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