<p>Does anyone suggest a method to increase my math and science scores? The April test was my first foray into ACT testing.</p>
<p>English--- 35
Reading--- 34
Mathematics--- 26
Science--- 26</p>
<p>u shouldn’t have a problem raising math. just do a bunch of practice math sections & learn from what u did wrong. seriously, i am not particularly great at math at all & i got a 32.</p>
<p>i’m in the exact same boat as u when it comes to science though…26 :/</p>
<p>i got a 26 on reading. any suggestions?</p>
<p>…luckily english saved my overall score though, haha.</p>
<p>Addressing all the sections mentioned, here’s what I recommend (I had 36 - 36 E/35 M/36 R/ 35 S)</p>
<p>Math - this is the easiest to improve by far. Just practice practice practice. Do both practice tests and a review section from one of the books, I suggest princeton review. Get a feel for how the ACT likes to ask math questions. Don’t be shy about plugging in and some of the other techniques they show you. You should definitely be able to improve this before your next test. </p>
<p>For reading, I like to pace myself at a little under 8 minutes/passage. I find the prose fiction tends to take me the longest, not exactly sure why. Usually the first couple questions are about the passage as a whole, so I quickly skim the questions looking for line numbers so that I know when I’m getting to one of the referenced questions. Then I read straight through. Although it takes more time, I haven’t run out yet so I suggest it because it really gives you the overall feel. However, you have to be really good at remembering your facts because you can’t go over and over the passages.</p>
<p>For science, pacing is the most important thing. Period. Make sure you are adhering to five minutes or less a passage. Don’t spend too much time on any one question. I didn’t go over any general science, but on the April exam, for example, they asked a question about convection, radiation, and conduction in terms of heat transfer that a lot of people (including me) missed because we didn’t know precisely what they meant. It might only be one or two questions, but a little science vocab review might help.
As far as reading questions first, then going to the passages, I didn’t really believe in this technique until I tried it, so I suggest you do on some practice tests. I felt confused without reading all the information, but as I learned, it really doesn’t matter. On the Charts and graphs sections, almost all the answers can be found by just reading the questions and looking at the graphs. Often multiple questions ask about the same pattern in the charts. It’s a little tougher to do this in the experiments, and you have to read the conflicting viewpoints like a reading passage. Hope this helps! Good luck!!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>