Is This Prep Book Any Good?

<p>Hello. I am considering purchasing McGraw-Hill's ACT prep book 'Top 50 Skills for a Top Score: ACT Math.' To anyone who has used this book, did this book increase your math ACT score? If so, approx. how many points did your math score increase? Is the material relevant? Is the material the same difficulty as the actual ACT? Thanks.</p>

<p>McGraw Hill is not a good ACT practice source. Their tests are too easy and quite frequently contain wrong answers.</p>

<p>In fact, they clone many of the math questions from already existing ACT practice tests. The difficulty difference between McGraw Hill and the actual ACT is quite immense.</p>

<p>McGraw Hill -> Red Book -> Actual ACT ->Barron’s -> LSAT</p>

<p>That’s how I see the difficulties in each. Easier is to the left and harder is to the right.</p>

<p>Darn it. Alright. Thanks for replying. I guess I’ll look into the Barron’s.</p>

<p>Barron’s is actually a little too difficult. It’s good preparation for the real test, but don’t let it ruin your confidence. I got a 24 on the English section once in Barron’s but pulled of a 35 on that section on the actual ACT. Also, Barron’s covers topics in math that would never be on the ACT, such as base ten and hyperbolas.</p>

<p>Also, be ready for some tougher Reading passages. The ACT, in my opinion, is getting harder in the math and reading, especially.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info. I think I might get a couple of Barron’s books to study with. Also, thanks for telling me not to let it mess up my confidence. I find myself getting stressed way too easily lol.</p>

<p>Practicing with Real ACT tests in a timed setting is the best way to prep.</p>

<p>My daughter used the McGraw-Hill Book to raise her Math score from a 28 to a 33. I think it is an excellent, focused, specialized aid that got her proven results. She used the Real ACT Prep (red book) tests for timed, realistic practice. I agree the Real ACT (Red book) is harder than the McGraw-Hill 10 ACT tests. But we used both. The McGraw-Hill is great for early practice testing and individual subject testing. Then when you think you’re ready switch to the Red Book for a timed full practice exam. She used this strategy to go from a 29 to a 32. The best thing we didn’t do enough of was to take a test (full or just subject) and have someone else or me score it, but not give the correct answer back to her. That way she should have gone back and see what/why she was missing things. Otherwise I think its more difficult to improve through practice tests.</p>

<p>An edit to the post above. She used the 50 Skills for Math and the 10 Test book. My endorsement was for the 50 Math skills book, mostly.</p>

<p>And I went back and checked, the 50 skills book helped raise her math score from 28 to 33. Is 5 points on the ACT Math worth $20?</p>

<p>Thanks, HoverDaddy. I have a copy of the McGraw-Hill’s Top 50 Skills book which I plan on using right beside an actual ACT test book.</p>

<p>Yeah, bmsmith5107, you have the right tools right in front of you. It really is just an issue of time and effort. I am a lawyer and I passed on to my daughter the tactics we used for passing the bar exam. Focus on one subject for improvement at a time. Master English first and so on. I found I have a real passion for helping her and anyone else beat the ACT. I think it is an easy test, provided you have the skill sets. All the answers are right there in front of you. Heck, half the battle is letting you mind flow in a way that eases you through the material. That only comes with confidence and that comes with repeated, focused, timed practice. If I had to do it over again (I was her self-appointed ACT DRILL SERGEANT) I would have not let her take the real test until she could consistently break 30 on the composite. As it was her scores went up piecemeal, 28 Dec 13 to 29 March 14 to 32 Sep 14 on September. I made her take the October test because I want her to have the insurance of a better score and since she had a 27 in Science, I just know she can crack off a 33 or better. I wish you the best and I think you have the right attitude, but will you put in the time? </p>

<p>Wow. Thank you, HoverDaddy, for your anecdote. Hearing success stories, especially like yours, makes me feel better about the ACT because if one person can prove a 33 via hard work, another person sure can do that. I will definitely be studying each skill on each part of the ACT to try to master it, then I will take timed test on each section to see how I did. Once again, thank you so much for your input.</p>

<p>If you have access to a library, they may have it there to borrow for free. Most libraries have a decent selection of prep books to choose from so you can try it before buying it</p>

<p>Alright, thank you :)</p>