Doing sections at a time vs whole practice test in 1 sitting

<p>does it matter if you dont take the 4 hour practice tests at one time? Its hard for me to find the time to take out 4 consecutive hours for ALL of the practice tests I am doing, therefore i divide them into subsections for when I do get time.</p>

<p>For those who get great scores, what did you all do? Thanks everyone.</p>

<p>i never took it all at once... i always did a few english tests, then a few math tests, then a few reading tests, then a few science tests, and then i went through that cycle a few more times until I pretty much finished out my books</p>

<p>you can do all the tests at once to prep your brain for the mental strain, but I'd only do that a couple of times... the other times, i'd take it a section at a time (each section under normal timing conditions).. that way worked better for me</p>

<p>It does matter, fairly significantly in my opinion. The ACT is about speed and timing. You slow down as the test progresses because of fatigue. The hardest 2 sections to complete are also at the end of the test, so the bias is greater. </p>

<p>Although it may not affect your score too much, if you find yourself working to the end of the time limit every time for the reading and science sections, then you should expect to be 2-5 questions slower depending on how much you can concentrate for long periods.</p>

<p>Doing a test in sections is a good way to learn, but not a good way to practice. I believe that the ACT does not need much learning, but it does need a lot of practice. So you can do that if you wish, but I recommend you do at least a few tests the whole way through in one sitting.</p>

<p>Doing the subjects one at a time will be good practice. Make sure you take them timed and try to finish comfortably within that restraint. It is still best to take 1 or 2 complete tests to get a feel for how you will respond, as previous posters have said. I do not think that taking MANY tests in complete sessions in comparison to one area at a time will better your score. Practice is practice. I actually found that I scored HIGHER when i take a practice test in one complete sitting, than when i take a section at a time and add the scores together. I think this is because I stay more focused and "in the zone". So in short, yes taking the sections one at a time will help, virtually as much as taking the tests in one sitting. But it would still be a good idea to take 1 or 2 tests all at once to see how you deal with fatigue. Just my opinion.</p>