This isn’t an issue whose fault lies with the ACT but instead my own, and I was wondering what kind of advice you guys could give.
For some reason, I cannot score above a 30-31. I’ve taken near a dozen practice tests and have studied on the side, getting to know the kinds of questions that they ask, coming to understand patterns, etc.
In terms of the details of my actual scores, I generally get 35-36’s on the English consistently, then 30-32’s on the rest of the sections. However, if this was the case for every single test, then I’d come to the conclusion that, naturally, this is my peak and there can be nothing I can do to change that, but, I have scored 36’s twice on Reading, and 34’s twice on Math with my highest Science being a 33.
But whenever I score those, my English drops to a 30-33. I don’t know how or why this is and it’s pretty frustrating because I understand that if I were to get a 36 in both Reading and English, with my averages in Math and Science being 30’s, I could jump up to a 33.
So what might be the problem with me? Are there in-test strategies that I should follow that might remedy this? Help lol.
It seems that your problem is time management. You evidently need more time, so when you put in sufficient time for any section, you do not have enough time for the rest. You have the knowledge and understanding, you simply need to learn how to take less time answering.
How do you do on SATs?
Have you taken a real ACT test?
When you are doing practice tests, are you doing a full test (all 4 sections in the correct order), being strict on the actual time limits?
I do worse on SAT’s. I took 3 practice tests and scored an average of 1250 as opposed to 29-30 on my first few ACT practice tests.
I’ve taken 1 actual ACT and got 36 English, 30 Math, 31 Reading, 30 Science with a composite of 32. I’ve followed the standard ACT timing for most of my practice tests with the 10-minute break included. The only practice test where I gave myself more breaks between sections got me a score of 34.
I would say that you should try the SAT and see how well you score on that. Also see how having small snacks, drinking, etc, between tests helps.
I think pacing is the biggest factor. The reason you do well in those other sections and subsequently drop in English is because you might be spending too much effort on those portions. What is important to remember is that its a very long test and you need utmost focus throughout even if its not 100%.