<p>I want to know how I can avoid the MANY careless mistakes I make on the math section. Out of the questions I get wrong at least 85% of them are due to lack of absolute concentration. Do you have any tips on how I can change this for the better?</p>
<p>After you finish a tricky problem, or any problem which makes you feel uneasy, you should go back and review them to make sure you did all the calculations correct. Quickly skim through you work on the problem and check if everything is mathematically sound. It is key that you focus on what you are doing and how to get your end result. Often times you can plug your answer back into the question to verify if it’s right or wrong. Math was by far my best section (like a 33 I think), now if only I can learn how to do the stupid reading test! (like a 26 lol)</p>
<p>My daughter has taken the ACT three times. The first two times she felt discouraged because she felt she knew the material, but made careless mistakes. When she registered for the third test, she bought ACT’s study guide, with the practice tests. She took all the math practice tests, concentrating on avoiding the careless mistakes.</p>
<p>By way of encouragement, my daughter’s math subsection scores went from 26 to 35.</p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Random tip: Chewing gum helps some people to concentrate during standardized tests.</p>
<p>Do you have extra time? If so, go back over the test and “sanity check” your answers. So if you did the problem exactly and got 30 (out of 3, 30, 300, 3000), when you go back use a different method to come up with a quick ballpark estimate and see if your answer makes sense. Your ballpark estimate might be “around 50” but that will give you confidence that your original answer was right.</p>
<p>Practice, practice, practice. Your difficulty concentrating might be caused by nerves. The more familiar you are with the problems, the more confidence you will have, and the less nervous you should be.</p>
<p>Lower the stakes. Are you freezing up because you feel a lot is riding on the test? It’s not. You’re not likely to do a LOT better or worse than in the past. You will be going to college, and you will likely succeed there. Try to talk yourself into treating the test as a fun exercise instead of a walk on the plank.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>