Just wondering what people’s experience is regarding how closely do mock tests (like from the ACT red book) track with the real grades that kids received.
My daughter is routinely scoring a 33-34 in the red book test. If it generally tracks closely I’m ready to let her take the test this year (she will be in 10th) and get it behind her. If it doesn’t track closely then maybe she should take some time to prep more for certain sections.
[FYI - I did post in the ACT section…but didn’t get very informative answers!]
Tests 4 and 5 in the red book are considered more accurate. The first three are a little easier than the real tests being administered today. That said, any one student might not find that that’s true for her.
I would go ahead and let her take it if the 33-34s on practice are coming on TIMED tests that she’s doing in one sitting, preferably in the morning (mimicking test conditions). Then revisit the question after you have the score. If you are going after merit aid, then points at the top matter.
If your daughter generally does well on tests in real life, she’s likely not to panic or make silly bubbling errors or screw up the timing on the real ACT.
If math is her low score in the composite when she takes the ACT as a sophomore, there’s a good chance that her junior year math course at school may improve it. My D took an ACT prep course a year ago before the June ACT and was disappointed in her math score. That score improved in March and again in June without doing an awful lot more prep. My point is that the return on the test prep effort investment partially depends on whether they are fully well grounded in the math concepts (so tough to do today when they have those darned graphing calculators).
CValle, FWIW my D finished sections with ample time to spare and had virtually perfect scores on the Red Book practice tests. So, she felt ready. She scored a 34 in 10th grade during the April sitting. For the prior two weekends or something, she did take the last couple of Red Book practice tests under timed conditions in the morning. As it turned out, her low score was in the ACT Math, but that was because she had not yet taken Trig by the end of 10th grade.
She wanted to retake the ACT again during 11th grade and scored a 35, Math again being her lowest section and (to her chagrin) causing her to just miss a “rounded up” 36.
The ACT was her preferred test because it allowed her to stop worrying about SAT Subject Tests.
When your D takes the ACT, make sure she orders the test booklet so that she can check through the questions she might have gotten wrong in case she wants to retake. Good luck to your D.
Odd man out here…what is the rush? Your daughter just completed ninth grade. I would let her take her tenth grade courses and then take the ACT in 11th grade.
The rush is that her school is an IB international school which means she will be completing the IB Diploma during her Junior and Senior years. The feedback from students in that program is that it is a very stressful and busy two years. If there is anything we can complete prior to those two years, I feel like it would take a big burden off of her. If she does the ACT early, and therefore doesn’t even look at the SATor SAT subject tests (depending on the schools she likes) she will have a much more relaxed last two years of high school.
And to add - she is doing the IGCSE syllabus at this time. Within that there is an accelearated math class. That class allowed the kids to complete the regular 9th and 10th grade math class in 9th grade itself and to take an accelerated math class in 10th grade.
If you are at all interested in National Merit status, she needs to take the PSAT in her junior year, and the SAT as well.
I still don’t see the compelling rush. The ACT is a one day event…not a full semester or year event. It takes ONE day to take the test. I still say…take it in 11th grade…not 10th.
So what if she will be completing her IB program requirements, so what.
Again, what’s the rush? So far, you have said your child is taking the ACT a full year or two early, and now you want to cram two years of math into one year and further accelerate the following year.
I get wanting the child to be a strong candidate for specific colleges but I would focus on creating a strong base for college education. Cramming 3+ years of math into two years just doesn’t sound like a great idea. Does she need this to complete the IB program?
“My daughter is routinely scoring a 33-34 in the red book test.”
The reason to take it now is that the daughter has apparently been preparing with a bunch of practice tests. The best way to make use of practice time she has already invested is to take the test while the training is fresh. That way she won’t have to put additional time into refreshing the training before she takes it a year+ from now.
“Cramming 3+ years of math into two years just doesn’t sound like a great idea.”
Sounds like a great idea to me if the kid is into math and bored in the regular class. I don’t think we have enough data to criticize the schedule.
How closely mock test results mirror actual exam results is very dependent on the student. Some students will get nervous and freeze up during the actual exam, some students do better in a comfortable environment of home, and others score the same under both conditions. The only way to know how your child will do is to take a live test.
Early and steady preparation is a great idea. In addition to the few tests released by the ACT people, you might try to obtain copies of recent administrations. They DO float around the Internet and are common fodder at Asian prep centers.
In addition, focus her preparation to culminate on the PSAT official Junior test bor BOTH the PSAT and SAT. Wrapping up all ACT and SAT before the senior year is a blessing. A leisurely pace throughout 10th grade is probably best with just a few refreshers.
Nobody ever complained from starting early and many regretted not paying heed to Aesop. It is early for a rising 10th grader but NOT two years early!
What is the rush? Both with the testing and the curriculum. And I write this from the perspective of a parent with two very high performing kids (2350 SAT’s, and 800’s on every Subject test). Preparing with a bunch of practice tests is not such a huge investment of time, really. And if her schedule is so crammed that she can’t do it again a year or two from now (when she will have a greater fund of knowledge), something’s wrong.
DS soph psat: 183
DS junior psat: 223
DS junior SAT: 2360 (he got one math question wrong in a test that had a wicked curve; he said the question was “count on your fingers easy;” it cost him 40 points!!).
Moral of the story: it appears that an additional year of maturation and some practice tests help. He did not go crazy with practice tests, but had 2 hours of tutoring for the essay portion
Second moral: pay attention even when the question is silly easy
I didn’t choose to “cram” two years of math into one…that is the IGCSE curriculum. (Many of you may not be aware of GCSE and IGCSE requirements I understand.) The standard math class is one track and the accelerated math class (or honors or whatever you want to call it) completes both years in one year. This is a board exam system. So, the kids have to take the same board exam either after 10th or after 9th (if they were in the accelerated class.) They then move on to an additional math class in 10th. Not really any different than any honors track that any high school in the US offers…except they do have the IGCSE board exams that they have to take.
If a kid can perform well on an exam in 10th grade, I don’t see any benefit to pushing it out until a time when she will be busier. (I understand that people may also not be familiar with the requirements of an IB Diploma. In addition to course work they have an extended essay and community service hours that they need to complete.)
Honestly, this is not an over stressed mother trying to force a kid into a situation that is too demanding. Quite the opposite. A rather laid back mother with a fairly type-A high pressure kid who would like to spread out the college stuff instead of doing it all during 11th grade.
If she is scoring 33-34 on multiple practice tests under timed conditions and she feels like she is ready to take the test in 10th grade and you want her to get it out of the way, then I don’t see why not. But my own feeling is that a kid should have taken at least 5-6 full length timed practice tests before sitting for the actual test. I think it also depends on the kid and whether s/he has test anxiety and/or generally performs well on standardized tests Our D had taken the SSAT in 9th grade and SAT 2 subject tests at the end of 9th and 10th grades and did well on all so we encouraged her to take the SAT in the fall of 11th grade to get it out of the way. This was against the general recommendation of the college counselor at her school.