Advice about ACT science reasoning section

Parents Forum
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<p>


This is so true. Everything everyone else has said is right on target. I'm not sure why it gets confusing, but I would suspect that when the "brighter kids" read the problem, they are trying to understand the subject matter and learn the subject as they read. I think the best approach is to skim through the problem statement <em>OR</em> look at the specific questions/answer choices BEFORE reading the text. That way, you can know what you're looking for and find things to reject some of the answer choices.</p>

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<p>How would you go about doing the Reading Section?</p>

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<p>mini</p>

<p>Can you give an example using a shoe color?</p>

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<p>Sure - Chart with properties of several different chemicals, represented by formulas. The questions are about which chemicals in the chart display which properties. Instead of struggling with the various chemical symbols and trying to make sense out of what they are, call the first the red shoes, the second the blue shoes, and the third the green shoes. Then ask which shoes display which properties? Presto! You don't have to know ANYTHING about the various chemicals, or even their symbolic representation, to answer the questions properly.</p>

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<p>Thanks Mini</p>

<p>(Very G rated --- I'm surprised that you didn't use red condoms, yellow condoms, ribbed condoms, jumbo condoms.... :O But, then, this was an example for your D.</p>

<p>Next time, I expect a more "colorful" example ;)</p>

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<p>You don't know my kid - she went to New York (the Mannes International Keyboard Institute) last summer, and came up with 16 pair of various colored flipflops.</p>

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<p>jlauer95 - You never said how badly he did in science. Unless he wants to major in it what's the big deal with lower score in one area?</p>

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<p>mini </p>

<p>Aha 16 colors of flip flops -- she's my kind of gal!</p>

<hr>

<p>Path:</p>

<p>ACT composite 32<br>
Science Reasoning 26 -- so, it brings down his composite....</p>

<p>colleges tend to look at the composite number -- especially when giving merit $$$</p>

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<p>Yep, unlike the SAT many colleges ask for (and I assume look at) only the composite number. So a significant drop in any one area can hurt. </p>

<p>Still, even though I know he wasn't crazy about it, that's a really good score jlauer and should still bring in some merit money.</p>

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<p>I work for Kaplan, and have taught some ACT course sections. The biggest problem on the science portions is stamina. That's really what it comes down to for a lot of people. If this is significantly hampering you, then I suggest doing what Kaplan does for MCAT students (which is the longest standardized test, and in it's paper/pencil format is 5:45 minutes worth of actual test material): Start 3-5 saturday's out, and take a full length ACT, starting at 8 in the morning, each week, taking the test seriously. You do that, and by the third week it's habit getting up and taking a test like that, you'll conquer any fatigue issues.</p>

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<p>i agree that the ACT is about stamina. science is the last objective section. it is reading with graphs and charts and graphs and charts, a data appraisal and logic test, but the first time i took it i was wiped out at that point in the marathon .so i did the horrible 'take a practice ACT every weekend for 4-5 weekends' and it really helped. i got up at 8 on either Sat. or Sun and took a Real ACT from that book. i moved my score from a 21 to a 31, lol! this matched my scores in the 30s on all the other sections. what a relief. and becuz u have score choice w/ACT no one had to the see the test score where i blew it from fatigue. i moved my reading score up too but not my math</p>

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<p>Wow.... I didn't realize that the science portion is at the end. AND, now kids have to do the essay portion after THAT. These kids are wiped out!</p>

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<p>Arizonamom: "Most kids do signifificantly worse in the Science or at least most bright kids."</p>

<p>hmm...okay, so in this test of logic and data interpretation, the bright kids do poorly and the "dumb" kids do well. Arizonamom, sounds like a tortured twist of logic to me. Can you explain how that works again?</p>

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<p>No - the students well-schooled in drill-n-kill, and who received A's as a result, "underperform" relative to those who are simply able to reason well.</p>

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<p>That's what it seems to me, Mini. It appears to be a test of reasoning and logic --probably the closest thing to IQ on ANY of these standardized tests-- and so I fail to see how truly bright kids would do worse than the less bright.</p>

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<p>Less bright kids don't do better than bright kids.</p>

<p>From talking to kids who have taken the ACT, they say they have more problems with the science portion because they are not used to those questions. </p>

<p>If you study the science portion and practice the test, your score goes up. Of course, that is true for IQ tests too. :)</p>

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<p>"It appears to be a test of reasoning and logic --probably the closest thing to IQ on ANY of these standardized tests-- and so I fail to see how truly bright kids would do worse than the less bright."</p>

<p>Because lots and lots of kids who get A's in high school science are not truly THAT bright. And it's not that they do less well than the others; it's just that the gap is significantly narrower.</p>