DD doing 1 on 1 tutoring and doing practice tests and math/science scores are just not rising above a 28/29. While her english/reading scores are improving, she just doesn’t seem to be able to improve that much on the other sections. Any insight/tools/recommendations? Are good schools willing to look at a kid who has almost perfect english/reading but low math/science or is the composite scores the only thing that matters?
Can the tutor offer some insights as to where the weaknesses are? Continuing to take practice tests is a waste of time if there are some core math skills (percentages? something taught the week she was absent in fifth grade due to flu?) which she’s struggled with.
I’d start there. Ask the tutor for some diagnostics on where the troubles are. A kid with a shaky foundation on fractions isn’t going to get better by taking practice tests.
My son worked with a tutor for a while and ALL the tutor did was time and correct practice tests. It ended up being a complete waste of money. We could easily have done that on our own. I expected the tutor to dig in and analyze problems that were incorrect, assign relevant review work. Math and science were my kid’s problem areas too. I think science is weird. In practice my kid got anywhere from a 28 to a 36. If you get 2 or 3 wrong on that section you are below 30. It’s very much a speed/analysis skill. I really feel like that is not a very useful piece of information.
Math does require speed, but if you aren’t solid on fundamentals you will plateau. It was very helpful to my kid to have some math practice books and doing like 5 problems a day. We’d sit down and analyze and review if he got them wrong. We’d pull topics on Khan Academy at times. I have a math degree so that was not hard for me to do with him. My kid’s final score was a 34, so he was happy with that. I still think he could have squeaked more out of math had we not wasted time with such a useless tutor.
I’d fire your tutor if they aren’t digging into problem areas and analyzing problems that are wrong.
There are plenty of colleges that accept students with those scores. I think you need to focus on finding colleges that are good fits for your daughter, rather than putting effort into trying to make your daughter fit the expectations of the relatively small cohort of colleges that insist on top level test scores.
So look for schools that have holistic admissions policies (look at test scores but place greater value on other factors); schools that are test-optional; and schools where admissions are reasonably predictable and your daughter’s test scores are firmly the median score range. Also take a long hard look at women’s colleges.
Most colleges look at test scores in context – so they would be dubious about a prospective engineering student with weaker math scores, but would tend to focus more on the writing/language scores of prospective humanities majors.
29 is a great score! My daughter was accepted to several selective LAC’s with a 29 ACT and graduated from one last Spring. She had a fantastic college experience. The one take away for me from the application process was that there are awesome schools for every student out there.
I dont trust any standardized test.
Daughters score ACT:
28M,24S,31E,33R,29C …2017
31M,29S,35E,34R,32C…2018
27M,27S,34E,29R,29C…2018
Clearly all over the map, but high enough to get in where she wanted to go.
You know, a 28/29 composite is around the 90%ile. I agree with @calmom; find a good fit rather than focusing on schools that require tip top test scores. Standardized testing doesn’t define her or her ability. My own simply refused to retest (cuz, you know, just ONE more point would’ve…whatever). Really, the never mentioned on CC LAC she attended provided a great education, allowed her to be a student athlete and a scholar, and pushed her to pursue internships. She graduated last spring summa cum laude, and her first job is with a FANG company in SF. Not bad for a kid with a 29 ACT, don’t you think?
My younger- who is a good student (senior year calculus, a few APs), but not a great one- had standardized tests that were average and could not move them. I initially regretted not going all out crazy to get them up, but she got into her dream school. My advice is not to sweat it.
Agree with much of the above. Practicing the types of math problems that she is missing (and learning the concepts if need be) is important. Is the tutor also teaching test taking strategies…in math, for example, often two answers can be eliminated quickly.
Science has a significant reading component, along with testing the ability to read/interpret graphs and charts. Students really aren’t tested on science concepts.
Has your DD tried the SAT? The ACT is faster, and has more questions per minute, so the speed of the ACT could be a factor as well.
Agree with @ordinarylives and @mamalion. D “plateaued” at 30, although composition of the 2nd test was better than 1st one. She didn’t want to do any more. She got into a 30-34 (mid50) ACT school with no hooks. I think the emphasis on what a point or two difference on the ACT can make in the context of a holistic application is overrated.
(By the way some schools want to see all test scores, and Georgetown said they usually don’t like to see more than 2 tests taken - so check school policies too.)
thanks all. DD is trying the SAT as well but same problem with PSAT scores-- english super high, math not so much.
Here is another way to think about it:
Your student is a ACT 29 student. Find colleges appropriate for an ACT 29 student.
If you need merit scholarships, find colleges where her scores are much higher than the average.
Do keep in mind a 29 is at the 92 %tile
Oh - I absolutely agree with deciding when to say when. But if your student is still wanting to prep and is a junior, I’d find a tutor that would dig in on strategies and skills on those 2 subject areas. Maybe consider the April or June test and say when at that time. What is your student doing for math this year? That can make a difference too. I will say my kid started taking ACT through talent search in middle school and just very naturally went up 4 points from sophomore to junior year without much actual prep, just test practice.
But many many students would be super happy with the score you’re talking about - math/science in high 20’s and almost perfect english/reading scores correct? She still must be getting a 31-32 then right? You have MANY great options with this score so if she’s ready to be done and move on, I think that’s great too.
@parent73. My kid took the ACT and SAT once each. For prep, she did 4-5 timed practice tests each and analyzed her mistakes. Her scores all fell within a fairly narrow band (100 point variance on the SAT composite and within two points on the ACT composite). Her real scores fell within that range. At that point we said, you’re done. The tests accurately reflect your abilities.
This may be the case with your child. A 29 ACT is a great score that will ensure admission to many fine colleges!
However, if you want to “aim higher,” and try for a few reaches, she can also investigate test optional colleges and universities, which include prestigious picks like Bowdoin (historically test optional) and U Chicago (recently adopted), assuming GPA and ECs are competitive.
I could tell when my two kids were ready (S19, D20) when their practices section scores were consistently where they wanted to be on test day – both ACT test takers. That means getting your hands on as many possible practice test as possible (books, online, etc.). I had my S19 grind out one section every week night possible and a couple of sections back to back on the weekends. After about five total practice tests, he was consistently scoring we though he’d end up. First test, he scored right in that vicinity as a composite and for “fun” he took it a second time with just a bit more practice in between. While he averaged up the first sitting, he averaged down the second time – yielding the same score so likely a plateau for him.
D20 did not “subscribe” to my plan last summer and went in pretty cold last September. Reality set in for her and she got on board and same thing, practice scores were where she ended up in December.
What year is she and what math has she taken? From the actual tests or the timed practie tests, your dd and the tutor should be able to determine if she is missing certain types of questions, just making randome mistakes, or if she is just running out of time. If she is missing a certain type of problem, she should be able to learn the material and bring up the score. But if it is a speed issue or just makes mistakes, it may be hard to bring her score up any higher. As others have said, those are good scores especially when combined with a near perfect English score. At some point, you have to live with the scores you can get.
Test prep tutor here. Yes, kids will hit a plateau. It will never be possible for every kid to get a 36, even if they put in Herculean effort. When a student of mine gets a consistent score on at least three fully timed tests, I consider that student to have reached a peak. Especially if that third test goes down again. It may well be possible to eke out another point here or there, but it’s also entirely possible to lose a couple of points somewhere else. IMO, if a student has thoroughly prepped and keeps getting the same score on an official test, I feel that’s pretty accurate.
Of course, “thorough prepping” is different for everyone, and can depend on the quality of the prep and the tutor. I personally try to hone in on whatever seems to be causing a problem. I make notes about each specific kid, and I give the kid the notes and remind him/her to look the notes and strategies over before the next test.
There is plenty your student can do to maximize their score. First, try to use only official ACT tests if possible. No Princeton Review or Kaplan test will ever be as good as an official test. I personally never have kids time themselves from the start. IMO, it’s far better to do a couple of tests slowly to get used to the format and to practice pacing. I ask kids to be mindful of the time, and try to be close to the allocated time. Speeding up can come after a student knows what to expect.
As for the second part of the question, define “good schools.” Will Harvard overlook a 29 on math if the English and Reading scores are 36? Doubtful. Will Marist? Probably. They are both “good schools.” From my perspective as a tutor, big differences in ability on different sections of the tests are very common. I only tutor the verbal components of the SAT and ACT. I work with kids who get 35/790 on the math sections and 25/600 on the verbal sections. The flip side is also true. Not surprising at all.
My D had a tutor for the SAT and her practice test scores were decreasing, so the tutoring center switched her over to the ACT for free since it appears the initial assessment was incorrect. She still didn’t really increase her scores at all. I finally changed tutors, and in 4 months, she increased 4 points on the actual test. It was like night and day between the two tutors, so you might want to change. I could really tell her enthusiasm changed with the second tutor. There will be a plateau at one point, but you might look into changing as well.
Thanks all-- I think DD is just disappointed that she is not improving on the math and that may hold her back from getting into schools she may like and that otherwise (reading scores and GPA) could be a possibility. She will keep working on it, but yes, she will have to look at schools that will fit her profile for GPA and ACT/SAT.
Has she tried the ACT Black Book? You can get it on amazon. I thought it was really useful in helping analyze question structure and common gotchas. That and the official red book for actual questions.