That’s another controversial subject. A lot of people think reading assignments should be kept to a length where speed reading won’t be necessary, that in fact pausing for reflection and such will viable.
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I do not get why it took them so long. Centuries ago I run out of time on GRE test followong some stupid recommendations to jump between sections for simpler questions etc. Then I learned about computer adaptive test. That was day and night. I had 0 problems to finish it. I think I correctly answered almost all questions and got very high score.
We were always told that the ACT has easier questions but more time pressure, whereas the SAT has harder questions and less time pressure.
I’d disagree that the time pressure is “so extreme that it becomes the major point assessed”. My S23 had extra time allowed by the college board because of his ADHD. He decided it wasn’t necessary for the SAT, in contrast to his AP exams, and was one and done after minimal practice (two untimed practice tests on Khan Academy) with a 1530 (not that he ever wanted to take it multiple times). I doubt extra time would have made any difference to his score. He took the extra time for PSAT and did worse on the EBRW section (1410 was 750/660 vs 1530 was 780/750).
That could just mean in his case, his natural pace of work is very fast.
I know this is true for my S24. He was one and done with not much prep on the ACT, and one of the chief reasons why is his natural pace of work is very fast.
I think that is partly true, but speed also becomes an issue when kids aren’t as familiar with content as they need to be. S24 ran out of time on the grammar section during his first SAT - not because it was insufficient time, but because he hadn’t really mastered the concepts (he made 90% of his errors on this section) and spent a lot of time debating the right answer. The second time he took the test, he had spent a few hours reviewing the grammar and practicing grammar-specific sections and, as a result, he finished with time to spare (and got them all correct). That being said, I do agree adding time would be good and would lessen the pressure associated with the test.
Right, there is in fact SOME knowledge you need to have. Indeed, my S24 undoubtedly could have done better on his Math subsection score (his worst), because they were asking him about stuff that either he had last studied a long time ago, or had never actually been in his math sequence.
Knowing this, in a moment of personal weakness I actually asked his college counselor if he should consider retaking, and she literally laughed in my face (this was over Zoom at least). And then kindly explained that his overall score was fine, it would be clear to colleges from his transcript that he was in fact quite good at math, and he was done with the ACT. He subsequently did well on the Calc BC exam, which rather supported her point.
But in a way, this is all further evidence in favor of the basic time-pressure complaint about the ACT. Because despite not actually knowing some of the math, and doing little to prep in general, he actually still got a very good math subscore, and an extremely good overall score. Indeed, there were a few similar non-math things where he actually didn’t remember various grammar rules and such, but because he reads a lot and works fast, he was able to basically intuit his way to quick and mostly correct answers. And that was all possible because he has a very high natural pace of work.
So this is a little awkward for a parent to be saying (and he would probably not be thrilled to read this), but I truly believe his ACT score is basically a type of false positive. Not that he couldn’t have learned/relearned the things he needed to know with some study. But he didn’t do that, and yet I am sure he got a higher score than some other kids who actually did know all that better than him. All because he has such a high pace of work.
Anyway, it definitely does not pay to get too extreme about any of this. There is some component of actual knowledge required for a good score. But pace of work is an important factor too. And to the extent people with a higher pace of work are ever outscoring people with more actual knowledge, this seems not so good to me. Even though that actually favored my particular kid.