Thanks @eandesmom . The strategies was what most helpful for my older son, younger son will need that too.
One strategy DS16 learned was leave no questions unanswered on the ACT as there is no penalty for incorrect answers. So if time becomes and issue, just fill in the bubbles.
^^^ S17 uses that one
@carolinamom2boys There is no longer a penalty on the SAT or PSAT either.
Thatās good to know @gusmahler
The only ones with guessing penalties are SAT Subject tests.
AP exams donāt have penalties either and are slowly changing to 4 answer choices from 5 choices.
S19 just told me we need to go to the library and get a bunch of books for the summer. First request? 1984 
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@collegeandi I think test prep places can help quite a bit, depending on the child. If a student is self motivated, they may be able to do enough via Kahn and some of the test prep booklets. Ours have all benefitted from a test prep though we have used different ones for each child. One was online as he refused to go in, one was part of a larger group session and one in a very small group session a few times and primarily 1:1. For that last one, he is not a strong test taker and the 1:1 has meant a 4 point difference since his initial diagnostic test. We are hoping to still improve that more, as a student he has come a long way since then and we will do a combo of Kahn and fewer 1:1 sessions for the next retake.>>>
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Thank you, @eandesmom!
Khan.
@eandesmom I loved that book! Hopefully your S will as well. Kind of scary, thoughā¦
To be honest I think whether to look at and decide which reading section questions to do first depends on the type of student. If a student is a really fast reader then I wouldnāt bother with that. DS17 reads books all the time so the reading & English sections were not hard for him. I think if I had told him to start picking and choosing which ones to read first it might have messed him up. The math on the other hand was hard for him. I told him if he didnāt know the answer to guess and move onā¦
School finally ended on Thursday. I just handed S19 the first Game of Thrones book to read - if he likes it, that series will keep him busy for the summer.
S19 has ADHD and does not do medication after school, so piling on test prep with homework would not work for him. For that reason, Iām thinking his SAT/ACT prep will have to occur next summer or not at all. He would never say he wants to prep, but heāll do it if I sign him up for it - I guess Iāll see how the PSAT 10 goes. Iām still trying to understand the new PSAT/SAT scoring.
Based on D16ās experience, Iām thinking that S19 would probably do well on the ACT without much prep. It seems to be less tricky, more straightforward compared to the SAT (well at least compared to the old SAT) S19 will do any test as quickly as possible just to get it over with so I think heāll have no trouble getting through all of the questions. (D16 prepped a bit for the SAT and not at all for the ACT - her converted ACT score was about 250 points higher than her SAT).
@eh1234 Yay for school being over! I think test prep will happen for us next summer. There is an elective class at the school for SAT/ACT prep but it wasnāt open for sophomores. I was thinking it would be good for her fall of her Junior year, so she can have an easy class in her schedule. Otherwise, next summer for sure. I have concluded that it is much better to pay someone to beat my child over the head than do it myself. I asked her what she wanted as a reward for her great work this school year. āNo more naggingā. Ok thenā¦ :-@
@2019hope I hear you about the nagging. Our S19 generally takes care of getting his work done but I still nag. He usually takes it pretty well. This summer, though, I think his growing hormones are finally kicking in and everything my husband and I say is āstupidā. Huh. If he doesnāt get through this new stage before next summer and wonāt prep without nagging then we will be hiring someone else to nag him. :))
Finally found the summer reading list for incoming 10th graders (they donāt make it easy to find . . . I canāt re-locate it).
They give you the choice of three books: The Book Thief, Code Name Verity, and a third book whoās name escapes me (itās an older book, written in the 30s, I believe). D19 read The Book Thief last year for school, so she chose Code Name Verity.
Iāve heard good things about Code Name Verity, maybe I will add that to S19ās list for kicks, he wants to load up on books. The kid got lucky and they rounded up his gpa, came in higher than expected though ridiculously low for what he is capable of. Still, all is not lost if he gets it into gear next year. Not ideal but better than it looked like it would be. Which kind of makes me mad for the level of effort lol!
He has said he wants to do some online practice tests on his own, we will see if he follows through or not. For now heās off being a counselor all week and not sitting on his bed daydreaming and avoiding work so I figure thatās progress of sorts.
Iāve found the āpay someone else to nag and coach my kidsā to be an excellent solution with decent results. 
Happy 4th of July everyone.
Well, just got Bio M SAT II score. 690.
S19 took the test this June after taking Bio H. He wonāt take AP Bio until senior year so it would have been too late then. Our friend, who is a college counselor, told us for him to just take it now. Her suggestion was, if he scored over a 700, we may end up submitting it down the road. Hm. Not thrilled with the score but, considering he didnāt study specifically for the test and he was a freshman, Iām not sure what we expected. At least it was good practice to sit for yet another standardized test!
I agree.
If he prepped a bit, doing a couple practice tests and reviewing target areas, he would have scored better. In a couple years, his test taking skills will improve as well.
S19ās physics score came out 680.
He wonāt take another Physics until senior year, so he will have to self study if he wants to take it again. It will be easier once he finishes Chem H, AP Chem, PreCalculus and AP Calc in a couple of years.
As I sat with him working on a prep book for about a week before the test, I saw how little freshman physics covered (most students were taking geometry and hadnāt learned trigonometry nor algebra 2 topics) so the score is what I expected.
Summer is already winding down for S19. School doesnāt start til mid-August, but marching band starts back Aug 1. Time to start getting his sleep schedule back on track!