October ACT Official Discussion Thread

<p>Let's git her started. (I just had to start this thread so I could have the peace of mind that I started one of these...)</p>

<p>Some questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The essay is the last section, correct?</p></li>
<li><p>Is the essay scored out of 6 or 12 (or what?)?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there any breaks?</p></li>
<li><p>Can you use graphing calculators (Ti-84+) on the math section?</p></li>
</ol>

<ol>
<li>yes</li>
<li>yes</li>
<li>yes</li>
<li>yes, but NO ti-89 (saw a girl removed from the test room because of it)</li>
</ol>

<p>LOL, dont those things actually solve for x for you?</p>

<p>Yeah they do, but they won't help at all on the ACT.</p>

<p>"2. Is the essay scored out of 6 or 12 (or what?)?"</p>

<p>On the score report, it is out of 12, though I'm pretty sure they judge it based on a 6-point rubric. I'm not sure, but I think they double whatever you get out of 6.</p>

<p>2 different judges score your essay. each one scores it out of 6 (1 to 6). they take both judges scores and add them together. if they are more than 1 point apart, it goes to a panel to grade it again. *(i.e. if one gives ur essay a 5 and the other a 4, you get a 9. if one gives it a 3 and the other a 5, it goes to a 3rd party)</p>

<p>works the same way for the SAT, also.</p>

<p>How long are the breaks and when are they?</p>

<p>[url=<a href="http://actstudent.org/faq/answers/numbquestions.html%5DHere.%5B/url"&gt;http://actstudent.org/faq/answers/numbquestions.html]Here.[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

<p>It says:</p>

<p>During the test, test supervisors will check your calculator to ensure that:
-you do not store test materials in your calculator's memory. </p>

<p>Does this mean that I have to remove the programs that I have on my calculator (I have some programs on there that convert certain units to other units, calculates the distance between 2 coordinate points, solves the quadratic equation, etc.)?</p>

<p>Oh, and it also says:</p>

<p>Use a soft lead No. 2 pencil with a good eraser; do not use a mechanical pencil, ink pen or correction fluid.</p>

<p>I can't use a mechanical pencil?</p>

<p>^ yea i freaked out about not being able to use mech pencils. Don't worry about it. they don't even care. I would use the .7mm instead of .5 because it writes more like a wood pencil and scratches the paper less.</p>

<p>Some proctors won't let you use mechanical pencils, though. And no, you can keep the programs as long as you aren't using them during the test.</p>

<p>Oh, so you CAN'T use programs during the test? Darn, I had been using the coordinate distance one a lot during the practice tests because it saves a lot of time :(</p>

<p>Also, what about bringing cell phones? I guess this varies form location to location, but the first time I took the SATs it wasn't an issue. However, the second time I took them (at a different location) they made a big deal about how they aren't allowed and how you'd have to turn them in to the proctor.</p>

<p>Where do they say you can't use programs? That rule doesn't make much sense, since it's totally unenforceable.</p>

<p>You can bring your cell phone, but you have to turn it off. If your cell phone goes off during the test, even on vibrate, they will kick you out.</p>

<p>You can use any program on your calculator. When they check the calculator, but mainly just look at it, make sure you don't have any papers tucked into the case, etc, and check the kind. Most proctors probably don't even know how to check the programs. Good luck to all!</p>

<p>From <a href="http://www.actstudent.org/faq/answers/calculator.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.actstudent.org/faq/answers/calculator.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If your calculator has games or other functions, you may not use those functions—you may use only the mathematics functions of your calculator.</p>

<p>Ah, okay, so it seems that I CAN use that coordinate distance function. Thanks!</p>