Okay, so it's junior year and you want to know how to go about attacking the ACT this year. I'm going to give you some simple steps to ensure you make the most of this school year and beat the ACT.
1. Take the act test!
You have to take the ACT! Many of you have taken an ACT through TorchPrep. If you haven't taken an ACT yet, take an online practice test. You need to register for one and just go take it. You need to get started this year!
2. Prepare for the test
What kind of ACT Test Prep is best for your family? I'll give you a few thoughts about ACT prep to consider. ACT test prep is not content review. The best way to aggregate ACT content is in the classroom. Teachers are experts who have been trained in teaching you english or math. These are the best possible people to teach you the ACT content. Think of it like this. . . The ACT is kind of like all of high school education smash into one really long, complicated test.
If ACT prep isn't content though, then what is it?
The way TorchPrep approaches the ACT is less about content and more about strategy. Not how do you prepare for the ACT, but how do you study the ACT. How do you break down the test to assure that what you've been taught in school can best translate to what the test wants you to know? The ACT is not a test that tests what you know, but it's a test that tests how well you can test.
Students need to make sure that they're being trained in the process of translating what they learned in school to what the ACT wants.
3. Make a plan
What do you do in terms of planning for the ACT test? How many times should you take it? Specifically in junior year, this is a general schedule for testing. Take the ACT in the fall semester of junior year. In early spring, your school will administer an ACT test at the school. That's not the end of the journey though. Students need take the ACT again in April, June, or July of the junior year. The ACT is a test that you can take multiple times, you want to be trained in how to take the test, and you want to actually go and take the test multiple times.
In short, if you want to beat the test then you have to do the following:
- Take the ACT test
- Find the Test Prep that works best for you
- Make a plan to take the ACT multiple times
This journey doesn't have to be so overwhelming. Think less of a sprint and more of a marathon.
You can do it.
Make a plan.
You got this.
Resources:
Free Printable ACT Practice Test - http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf
ACT Registration - http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act.html
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