Question: Preparing for ACT

Can someone show me some good online sources to study for the upcoming ACTs and also does it matter if I do good on freshmen ACTs? Thanks :slight_smile:

Do well. The best preparation for college readiness is learning in high school. Not just earning grades and certainly more than memorizing. Knowledge should expand in later courses. Develop study, test taking and time management skills. Read texts and books actively so that you can explain what you read, correctly answer questions at the end of the chapter, learn vocabulary highlighted in text and look unfamiliar words. Pay attention in class and submit assignments. Classes and or teachers may be boring to you. High school is for learning and not entertainment or socializing. If you really invest in high school, taking classes to learn what you missed is expensive and time consuming.

There may be dates when you must take tests to submit with applications. Taking the test annually may help provide an estimate and trajectory of scores.

@zannah thank you so much! this is extremely helpful!

I think that previous answer from zannah is great.

I can tell you my kid took the ACT in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade with almost no prep. He took a single test the week before and after his first ACT just added some rolling math review into his weekday school work routine. His composite went up 4 points each year and is expected to go up 3-4 this year as a junior to the top of the test. This year is the first year he’s done any real prep and hasn’t been a huge time commitment or difficult and could easily be done on your own with some real tests (2-3 hours a week for like 10 weeks).

I wouldn’t sweat it as a freshman. You may discover parts are easy for you. My kid never had to prep or work at the English section. The science and math timing was hard. Prepping for that was worthwhile for the last taking. But not really before.

Challenging yourself academically is what’s important now. You will definitely get the best impact from that.