<p>~JohnWillkins</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am considering the group I am surveying, but thanks for your concern. </p>
<p>My primary focus is to really just get an understanding of what people feel about the test and whether it is an accurate indicator of success. Overall, I have been getting some wonderful responses!</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>For students (and/or parents):</p>
<p>What was your ACT experience?</p>
<p>It was ok. It was my first time taking a standardized test (apart from the PSAT and the PLAN test). I plan to take it again and score much better.</p>
<p>Did you find that the ACT score correlated with your GPA?</p>
<p>Not at all. I attend a highly competitive IB curriculum magnet school, and I’m ranked first in my class. Then again, I hardly studied for the ACT.</p>
<p>Do your think the ACT accurately assesses your knowledge? Did it test your knowledge, or was it testing your ACT testing abilities (a.k.a. how well you know the test)?</p>
<p>I agree with a bunch of the other posters: the English and the Math sections do, indeed, test one’s knowledge. However, the reading section is far too short in time to adequately give some kids a chance. I think they should add on a few questions for each passage and add 10 minutes to the time. Finally, science is just dumb: the time pressure is the only thing that makes it difficult. While being able to quickly read and interpret graphs is cool, they shouldn’t be tested skills.</p>
<p>I scored a 31 composite for two main reasons:
<p>I scored perfects on both Math and English.</p>
<p>I plan to take it again in June and score at least a 34. I read more than enough to score a perfect on reading. Hopefully the science section will be easier.</p>
<ol>
<li>I’ve taken it three times. The first time was during the Illinois PSAE examination, and I wasn’t prepared (didn’t even bring a calculator!). The second time I took it, I didn’t study too much since the first time, but I was used to the test more. The third time, I STILL didn’t do much studying, but I improved a lot upon my Science score (16–>25) and almost all other sections. I think that my score could have been at least one or two points higher if I actually studied for the Math section.</li>
<li>No, primarily because my GPA is fairly low/average. In my opinion, GPAs (AP classes aside) are, if anything, representative of one’s ability to do work and memorize information. There are a lot of mediocre students (I don’t mean any harm towards them) at my school who have almost straight As.</li>
<li>Not really. From what I’ve seen, English is an accurate assessment; Math is an assessment of things learned throughout high school; Reading, Science, and Writing are mostly assessments of how well one can take the ACT (with a little intelligence mixed in).</li>
</ol>
<p>What was your ACT experience?
I took the ACT for the first time the summer of my junior year with some books. I took an online course (but barely did any of the work!) and retook the test in October of my senior year. The only thing I thought during the test was that it was QUICK- I ran out of time a lot the first time I took the test. It just meant that I had to be more efficient and work more quickly. I took the ACT knowing that I would do better because I got too confused with some of the questions on the SAT (I took the PSAT and received pretty “average” scores, and that’s why I took the ACT.) </p>
<p>Did you find that the ACT score correlated with your GPA?
For the most part. The first time I took it, I got a 30C with no real studying. After that, I got a 33C. I have ~4.0 UW GPA, 4.60 W. Granted, it’s not the absolute best, but considering that it’s the 99th percentile, I think that perfectly describes me. </p>
<p>Do your think the ACT accurately assesses your knowledge?
Eh. Yes and no. I would say that I prefer the ACT because it is by far more straightforward and has a better focus than the SAT. The SAT has pointless vocabulary lessons on it, while the ACT tests just tests some basic aspects of grammar and reading and writing. The ACT math problems are also pretty indicative of what one should have learned in high school. However, I don’t think it perfectly describes one’s knowledge or what one has learned though. I think that taking AP tests show more about a person because they’re very specific areas.</p>
<ol>
<li>1st time, i got a 32. The 2nd time, i had to go to the bathroom really bad for the second half so I got a 30. My third time, I got a 34.</li>
<li>I have a 4.262 out of 4, so yea, I suppose it correlates.</li>
<li>It depends. I think the reading section might test some knowledge. Science though, is just reading graphs and charts and stuff. The math is basic stuff, so if you know basic stuff your fine, you dont have to be a genius.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you to everyone who responded to this thread! My presentation today went fabulously, thanks to your opinions and input. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>~No need to respond more to this thread for my sake.</p>
<p>Welcome. :)</p>