I’ve taken the ACT twice so far and have gotten the same score both times. I got a 35 in reading the first time around but my reading dropped the second time while increasing in other categories a bit. I haven’t done much prep besides taking a few practice sections. I’m aiming for around a 34 overall so I’d have to increase around 6 points. Does anyone have any tips, strategies, or ideas on how I can improve my score? It’s really important that I get a very good score to boost my application. Thanks!
Lay out your best scores for each section.
35 for reading.
What’s your best math, English, Science.
So we can see your composite super score.
A 35 doesn’t seem too bad…
Are you saying your super score is a 28 - which doesn’t seem plausible.
Ultimately, whether via a class, online tool or book - you need to study, study, and study - and not just the info - but strategies such as - even if you don’t know the answer, eliminating impossible choices, etc.
But let us know more.
1 Like
Look at each section and the questions you missed.
Did you run out of time?
Did you make a mistake in reading the question?
Did you make a silly error in the answer you chose, especially math?
Did you just not get the question solution because it was too hard or you had not yet covered the material in school?
Answering these questions will help you focus on the areas where you need to drill.
1 Like
Practice tests and review books. The science section, all you need to do is the practice tests and correct them, learn from your mistakes. For math, try the best act math books ever series, books 1 and 2.
1 Like
Learn forms of grammar. Good is an adjective. Well is an adverb.
5 Likes
25 on Math, 27 on Science, 25 on English, and 35 on Reading. I have always struggled on standardized tests even though I’m a pretty good student.
Part of it is definitely not learning the material until after I had taken the ACT particularly in the math section. Asides from that I’m not quite sure. I feel like my pacing is pretty good - maybe I read the questions a little fast?
Again get a book. Take a class or online.
I’d spend 30 mins a day. One section. Three or 4 days in a row. Or two sections. Keep going.
Try and not just take tests but learn strategies etc. spend 30 days at least.
Thank you so much! Do you recommend doing one section at a time or sitting down and taking the whole practice test?
I definitely need to work on my grammar because for whatever reason they didn’t really teach us that in grade school. Thank you!
2 Likes
I’ll definitely do that thank you
Do both if you are trying to improve that much.
You will need to dig in on each section to figure out what you do not know, but you also need to work on the pacing. With math, that is a big leap, but you can work on it this summer. Look at factoring, that is several questions and many trip up there.
Did you take the SAT, some do better on one than the other.
I did take the SAT but did worse on it then I did on the ACT. Thanks so much for your advice.
If you have budget, you can hire a counselor. We did for our kids - it was $90 an hour for six hours.
What is your goal of the test?
In other words, what type of schools are you applying to?
You need to do practice sections, one at a time, with corrections that you can learn from. An ACT score such as yours suggests a bright person who has had a poor education. I would say that for this, the place to start would be the official act prep book.
1 Like
Read this.
Don’t do anymore reading for now. Focus all your attention on math, science and English. Do some punctuation worksheets and look at Purdue’s OWL resource. https://owl.purdue.edu/
OWL is a great resource for all things related to grammar and punctuation usage.
That’s not uncommon nationally so don’t let this get you down. You can use a review program as well, but those are unlikely to be enough to help with this. Also do the grammar lessons on Khan Academy. Don’t worry about the grade level. Look for the skills you need to work on and do the whole lesson. HTH
Even people with pretty good educations can have a gap in math or grammar mastery. I was surprised that my kid who wound up at a tippy top had not been taught the proper use of a semicolon, an issue that practice tests revealed. Gettting the practice question wrong in a test prep book with good explanations of the point of math or grammar that you have not yet learned is probably the most targeted way to get the greatest result for the least amount of time expended.
1 Like
I am aiming for the highest score I can get. Preferably a 34+ because I plan to apply to some pretty competitive schools
I’ll do that thank you!