ACT--do students usually have time to finish the entire test

[kbutton]

My son has been doing test prep with a book for months. He qualifies for 1.5 times on the test (2e) and takes the test this week (long story involving make up dates, etc.). He takes 1.5 times to do the exercises in the books and still doesn't finish all of the sections. He's working on not getting too involved in a question before moving on, but it's still not enough.

Is this typical?

If he is college-bound, it won't likely be by the traditional route, but this is the free test he's entitled to through the local school district (our state allows everyone a free test as a junior). Depending on how things play out, he might do CC, but it will be directly related to the trades as far as we can tell. He's going to be in a vocational school PT for vocational classes next year. I would like him to make the "graduation cutoff" for our state for math and English, but I also don't want him to do so poorly that if he takes it later with more experience and more test prep, he gets flagged as a cheater (I keep hearing about that happening). 

He's not stressed out, and we've emphasized only that he do his best to take the advice in the book, do his best, and we'll see what happens. He's very calm about it, so I don't think nerves will be at play.

[Clemsondana]

A few years ago I looked over the science section of the ACT prep book to answer some questions for a parent. The biggest thing that I noticed was that if you actually tried to figure out the answers to questions, it could take forever.  But, if you eliminate the answers that it can't be, it goes a lot faster.  This was absolutely the case with the last standardized test I took years ago - the GRE.  The analytical section would have been time-consuming if you tried to solve every puzzle, but if you just eliminated the impossible it wasn't bad.  I don't know if the same applies to other sections, though.  

[kbutton]

4 minutes ago, Clemsondana said:

A few years ago I looked over the science section of the ACT prep book to answer some questions for a parent. The biggest thing that I noticed was that if you actually tried to figure out the answers to questions, it could take forever.  But, if you eliminate the answers that it can't be, it goes a lot faster.  This was absolutely the case with the last standardized test I took years ago - the GRE.  The analytical section would have been time-consuming if you tried to solve every puzzle, but if you just eliminated the impossible it wasn't bad.  I don't know if the same applies to other sections, though.  

I think that is mentioned in the strategies in the prep book, but I will ask him about it. Thanks!

[fourisenough]

My DD can just barely finish each section on the ACT. And she’s a fast processor who spent most of last summer working through test prep books on her own for English, Reading, and Science. She worked weekly with a tutor on the math section. A part of the prep/tutoring was learning to manage her time.

[kbutton]

I should probably add that I never took the ACT. The SAT is/was different, and in my day, you took it once, and your score was your score. I don't remember if I finished, but I think I must've finished. I didn't do test prep, but I was good at standardized tests.

[klmama]

My faster reader finished all the sections and my slower reader didn't. 

We found the best test prep tip was to go through the answers in the test prep book to learn why all of the correct answers were correct.  That was especially important for their stronger areas - it's a lot easier to raise the score in an area that's already a relative strength, and that will improve the composite.   

[EKS]

I can barely make it through the ACT in the amount of time given.  Contrast that to both the SAT and the GRE where I can finish a first pass through each section in half the time given, giving me a ton of time to obsessively check and recheck my answers.  This is true even when taking the GRE for real (so not a practice test).

[kbutton]

This is all helpful information. Thanks! I'm asking him about these things, and it's all stuff the test prep book is covering. 

We'll see how he does. I am glad he's feeling confident but well aware that he's not flying through things--I think that allows him to feel prepared but not cocky.

 

[EKS]

One thing I should mention is that my older son has dyslexia and had extended time accommodations (1.5x) for the ACT.  In practice, he couldn't finish the reading section even with the extra time and was scoring in the very low 20s.  Then suddenly he could and was scoring above 30.  I asked him what he was doing differently, and he told me that he had stopped reading the passages.  He ended up getting a 31 on the reading on the real thing.  

However, since he had extended time, you may want to take that story with a grain of salt.

[Arcadia]

Are you using the red ACT book published by ACT or other test prep books?

My slow reader could only finish the math section a few years ago. He didn’t prep for ACT or SAT but did better on SAT. 

The best time estimate we had was using the practice test ACT provided 
http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

Are you using the red ACT book published by ACT or other test prep books?

My slow reader could only finish the math section a few years ago. He didn’t prep for ACT or SAT but did better on SAT. 

The best time estimate we had was using the practice test ACT provided 
http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf

Something else. I want to say Barron's? It's a big black book. I didn't know the ACT provided any test prep. Thanks!

2 hours ago, EKS said:

One thing I should mention is that my older son has dyslexia and had extended time accommodations (1.5x) for the ACT.  In practice, he couldn't finish the reading section even with the extra time and was scoring in the very low 20s.  Then suddenly he could and was scoring above 30.  I asked him what he was doing differently, and he told me that he had stopped reading the passages.  He ended up getting a 31 on the reading on the real thing.  

However, since he had extended time, you may want to take that story with a grain of salt.

Mine is using 1.5 times as well. Was this on science or some other part? There is "reading" on a couple of different parts.

[Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Something else. I want to say Barron's? It's a big black book. I didn't know the ACT provided any test prep.

Use the PDFs on this link for practice. I find Barrons a little over done.

https://blog.prepscholar.com/printable-act-practice-tests-5-free
 

“Below are all six currently available PDFs for official ACT tests. Even though some practice tests are old (dating as far back as 2005), the format of the ACT hasn't changed much since then (except for the introduction of a redesigned Writing section in 2015), so you're basically still taking the same test from more than a decade ago.

• ACT Printable Practice Test 2018-2019 (Form 74FPRE)
  • Test: p11-55. Answer key: p57-60.
• ACT Printable Practice Test 2015-16 (Form 72CPRE)
  • Test: p11-55. Answer key: p57-62.
• ACT Printable Practice Test 2014-15 (Form 67C)
  • Test: p11-51 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p56-62.
• ACT Printable Practice Test 2011-12 (Form 64E)
  • Test: p13-56 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p60-65.
• ACT Printable Practice Test 2008-09 (Form 61C)
  • Test: p13-55 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p60-64.
• ACT Printable Practice Test 2005-06 (Form 59F)
  • Test: p13-55 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p60-65.

Each test includes a full answer key so you can grade your test.

Notice a few years missing? That's because ACT, Inc., often duplicates the same practice test in consecutive years. For example, the 2015-2016 test is identical to the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 tests, and the 2018-2019 test is identical to the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 tests. We've included the form ID for each test (in parentheses) so that you can check what's the same and what's different (the ID is located in the bottom-left corner of each page).”

[EKS]

37 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Mine is using 1.5 times as well. Was this on science or some other part? There is "reading" on a couple of different parts.

The subtest called the "reading" subtest.  

[RootAnn]

You have 60 seconds per math question. Some take less than that. Later ones take a lot longer unless you know a trick. If you finish early on math, you are either really good or you guessed on some/a lot.

My fast readers can finish the English/Reading sections - some by quite a bit, some by a bit.

None of us can finish the science section with enough time to really digest all the questions. We end up eliminating some answers & guessing on at least one of the subsections

So, yes, the ACT is designed for speed and they pretty much assume only the fast processors will have time to answer all the questions.

[skimomma]

Dd was not able to finish the math section.  She took the test cold with no prep (long Covid-related story) but at least knew to quickly skip the math problems she did not instantly know how to do (only because that was the last thing I yelled as she went out the door).  So, she got through all of the problems but had skipped many that she never had time to go back to.  She is a slow math processor so this did not surprise me at all.  

[kbutton]

He was able to finish all the sections and thinks the quiet environment and having someone else time him was freeing. I hope so, lol! He qualified for a small group setting, so it was really quiet. He's not likely bound for traditional college, but it would be nice to have his transcript validated and keep that door open. 

[Roadrunner]

We are deciding which test to tackle. ACT sounds tougher than SAT. Could you tell me why your children prefer one over the other? 

[kbutton]

17 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

We are deciding which test to tackle. ACT sounds tougher than SAT. Could you tell me why your children prefer one over the other? 

I have heard the ACT is easier, but I don't really know. 

In my state, everyone gets a free ACT or SAT as a junior (and only as a junior), and it's administered during the school week in your home school. I think most districts choose to give ACT. The district arranges accommodations for students who need them, so the parent doesn't have to do that--that's one big advantage for us. Homeschoolers are allowed to opt in. 

[SDMomof3]

I had my girls take timed practice test for the ACT and SAT. We decided on which test to take, base on the results of the practice test. My dd1, who is stronger in math took the SAT. my dd2 stronger in English took the ACT.

[Roadrunner]

20 minutes ago, SDMomof3 said:

I had my girls take timed practice test for the ACT and SAT. We decided on which test to take, base on the results of the practice test. My dd1, who is stronger in math took the SAT. my dd2 stronger in English took the ACT.

Even the though ACT tests higher level math than SAT and is that much faster? 

[SDMomof3]

52 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Even the though ACT tests higher level math than SAT and is that much faster? 

The ACT math questions are usually presented in a fairly straightforward manner. The questions may test you on challenging mathematical concepts, but they are not specifically designed to test your reading comprehension, and they are not set up to lure you to select a baited answer. Basically, ACT Math questions test how well you have memorized a particular math concept and whether you can appropriately recognize and utilize it. The SAT Math does have a large emphasis on word problems and data analysis. 

My dd2 was taking Pre-Calculus in 11th, so the harder ACT math topics were fresh in her head, like graphs of trig functions, and logarithms. Also dd2 is better at Geometry than Algebra. Geometry is about 30-40% of the ACT math section and 10% of the SAT math.  

[Roadrunner]

1 hour ago, SDMomof3 said:

The ACT math questions are usually presented in a fairly straightforward manner. The questions may test you on challenging mathematical concepts, but they are not specifically designed to test your reading comprehension, and they are not set up to lure you to select a baited answer. Basically, ACT Math questions test how well you have memorized a particular math concept and whether you can appropriately recognize and utilize it. The SAT Math does have a large emphasis on word problems and data analysis. 

My dd2 was taking Pre-Calculus in 11th, so the harder ACT math topics were fresh in her head, like graphs of trig functions, and logarithms. Also dd2 is better at Geometry than Algebra. Geometry is about 30-40% of the ACT math section and 10% of the SAT math.  

Would you say the same thing about the English section?

We are really just starting to look at those tests More seriously. I had my DS take a look at the ACT English section and he said questions were very badly written. He thought SAT questions were easier. We haven’t looked at the math section of ACT at all, but math isn’t an issue in this house. 

[SDMomof3]

We didn’t really look into the English section, the deciding factor for my dd on which test was the math section. 

[ElizabethB]

On 4/2/2021 at 1:33 PM, Roadrunner said:

Would you say the same thing about the English section?

We are really just starting to look at those tests More seriously. I had my DS take a look at the ACT English section and he said questions were very badly written. He thought SAT questions were easier. We haven’t looked at the math section of ACT at all, but math isn’t an issue in this house. 

My daughter did better on the ACT English section than the SAT Writing section. She wasn't a big fan of the way either test worded the questions, but she's naturally good at grammar and writing, many of the sentences on both tests are a bit wonky and/or long winded. For some reason, all of the ACT sections were a better fit for her. The SAT is a better fit for my son. She scored high enough on ACT English to place out of both semesters of English in college, her SAT writing was good but would not have been quite high enough to place out, and the ACT was way better overall so we submitted the ACT score, not the SAT score.

The ACT Black Book explanations and rules upped her score a lot, well worth the money.

Edited April 4, 2021 by ElizabethB

[ElizabethB]

On 4/2/2021 at 8:42 AM, Roadrunner said:

We are deciding which test to tackle. ACT sounds tougher than SAT. Could you tell me why your children prefer one over the other? 

The best way to decide is to take a full practice test of each and compare the percentile scores.

There are a lot more high quality test prep materials for the SAT if the scores are about the same. My daughter did about a standard deviation higher on the ACT, my son a standard deviation higher on the SAT. Most people score very similarly on either test.

For the ACT: ACT Black book, For the Love of ACT Science, Meltzer Reading, Meltzer English.

Mathchops is also good once you get to above 80% level on ACT/SAT, it's hard to find challenging problems at that level, it's not that expensive. You take their level challenge until you are at the level you are scoring on the ACT/SAT and then every problem is at your level, very efficient.

For the SAT, the new 1600io orange book is good, it's a 2 volume set, has an appendix to go to teaching and problems for each question missed. Other good SAT books are SAT Black Book, Meltzer Reading, and either Metlzer Writing or College Panda writing, both are about the same.

The generic books really aren't that helpful. Kahn is OK for SAT practice but books are more efficient. Uworld is supposedly good but we haven't tried it. 1600io has a good free section for the SAT with a fair amount of helpful material. There are also a ton of YouTube channels going over every single SAT math problem, Dr. Rogers math neighborhood is one.

Edited April 4, 2021 by ElizabethB

[UmmIbrahim]

Just throwing it out there that my oldest son really liked UWorld for SAT prep (https://collegeprep.uworld.com/students/). They also offer ACT and PSAT prep. Once you have figured out the patterns of the kinds of questions, particularly on the math section, you can complete the section much faster because you don't have much think time. You just recognize the problem type and go. There are absolutely patterns to the kinds of questions asked and just doing regular math problems in a regular math course won't train you to recognize those patterns.

Grinding through lots of UWorld practice problems got it done for us. Good luck with your preparation.

[Roadrunner]

36 minutes ago, UmmIbrahim said:

Just throwing it out there that my oldest son really liked UWorld for SAT prep (https://collegeprep.uworld.com/students/). They also offer ACT and PSAT prep. Once you have figured out the patterns of the kinds of questions, particularly on the math section, you can complete the section much faster because you don't have much think time. You just recognize the problem type and go. There are absolutely patterns to the kinds of questions asked and just doing regular math problems in a regular math course won't train you to recognize those patterns.

Grinding through lots of UWorld practice problems got it done for us. Good luck with your preparation.

is it just for math? We don't need math prep at all. Only English. 

[UmmIbrahim]

46 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

is it just for math? We don't need math prep at all. Only English. 

No, it's for both. I don't recall my son doing much with the writing/English stuff on UWorld (he was simultaneously using 1600.io for some of the reading passage discussions because those videos tied into practice exams he was taking), so I can't speak to the quality of their English prep questions. There is a free trial, so you could probably give it a look and see if it would be helpful. Doing tons of real exams as practice combined with those two sites worked out well for us. It's nice that so many of the older exams are available online as practice!

 

[cintinative]

1 hour ago, UmmIbrahim said:

Just throwing it out there that my oldest son really liked UWorld for SAT prep (https://collegeprep.uworld.com/students/). They also offer ACT and PSAT prep. Once you have figured out the patterns of the kinds of questions, particularly on the math section, you can complete the section much faster because you don't have much think time. You just recognize the problem type and go. There are absolutely patterns to the kinds of questions asked and just doing regular math problems in a regular math course won't train you to recognize those patterns.

Grinding through lots of UWorld practice problems got it done for us. Good luck with your preparation.

Do you mind sharing how he used this? I see that you can get it for 180 days or 360 or for short periods. Did you use it for the shorter or longer period? If for the longer, what did the daily lesson time turn out to be (time-wise)?

[UmmIbrahim]

3 hours ago, cintinative said:

Do you mind sharing how he used this? I see that you can get it for 180 days or 360 or for short periods. Did you use it for the shorter or longer period? If for the longer, what did the daily lesson time turn out to be (time-wise)?

We got the 180 day plan at the time. He was busy with DE and AP classes, so he didn't have a ton of concentrated time for prep, but spread his prep over a few months. He used the UWorld two different ways. First, he created mixed tests (composed of hard, medium, and easy problems all in one) of 30 problems each. He did a couple of those tests in a day (depending on his other work). He also created a few custom tests that were all "hard" problems, and printed some of those out to practice doing them on paper as well (this may have required screenshots, I don't remember if there was a way to print out the problems directly). 

He did not end up working his way through all of the problems, and it turns out that we would have been fine with a little bit less time in the subscription. After working with it for two or three months off and on (busy days he might not get to it), he felt very confident that he had figured out the patterns of most of the SAT math problem styles. His speed improved quite a bit, and he always had a ton of time left over to go back and check for silly mistakes. He ended up only missing one problem (silly mistake!) between the two math sections on the real test, which unfortunately resulted in a 770 for that administration of the SAT because the curve was rough (it wasn't possible to get a 780 or 790 for that testing date). He was a bit bummed because he was really shooting for the 800 (and lots of schools where he applied also wanted to see that 800, lol) but it all worked out fine in the end.

For improving problem type recognition and maximizing his score for scholarship purposes, it was really great. It felt like an efficient way to use study time. We had originally heard about it on reddit (/r/SAT) and lots of kids felt like it really helped them to maximize their scores. We felt like using the tips he got there (1600.io + UWorld + the panda books + taking tons and tons of real practice exams in real conditions) was absolutely the right way to do test prep, and we saved big bucks by not going in for the fancy prep classes. In the end we really concluded it's about as much practice on real tests combined with smart materials as you can manage. Your brain will start to see the patterns. There is no "secret sauce" of super-duper tricks that the big-name classes try to sell you. Best of luck!