Fall is hard. While most of us are enjoying the changing foliage and our Pumpkin Spiced everything, high school students in the United States are stressing about the ACT exams coming up on October 28th and December 9th. While there are also exams in late Winter, Spring, and Summer, the October and December tests are the make-or-break tests for scholarships and early admissions for many colleges and universities. With the horryifing increase of college-related costs, it is little wonder my students and their parents are concerned about academic performance. I have worked with students and their families through this grueling season for years now; I see the same self-doubt, panic, and (sometimes) resignation every year.
Many students will take the ACT more than once. The first time is, more or less, testing the waters and seeing where students' starting points are. The results of this first test are met with either delighted surprise, horror, or indifference (typically by students...not parents). When the potential benefits or consequences start settling in, the stress begins.
What can be done?
ACT Exam preparation is a marathon, not a sprint. An ACT English session the week of the exam will not help. A weekend workshop will not create a big change on its own. There. I said it.
"You teach these things! They don't help?"
That is not what I said. What I am saying is that "one and done" preparation does not and will not work. On the flip side of that coin is the fact that extremely drawn out preparation without a goal other than an increased score doesn't work either.
Think about it for a bit. The ACT exam is testing all the academic skill sets students should have developed in their English and math classes during their entire K-12 academic career. The exam tests mathematical analytical thinking; mechanical & rhetorical language application; academic analytical reading (Literary Narrative, Humanities, Natural Sciences, AND Social Sciences); and scientific analytical reading and data analysis.
The goal is (pardon the cliche) to work smarter...not harder. That first test students take is a goldmine of information about where they are in each of the four disciplines and what needs to be retaught or refreshed. ACT always offers the diagnostic information at the time of registration. While parents do not need to purchase it for every test, it is a wise move for that first exam. Experienced tutors will often ask if students have this diagnostic information. While the data provided by the diagnostic may seem unhelpful to parents as they sift through it trying to see what their students need, experienced, subject-specific tutors will know exactly how to use that information to begin isolating problem areas.
The most effective approach to ACT exam preparation is actually identifying the skill sets that are weak and reteaching and learning how to apply them. There is a heirarchy of skill set frequency on the exam. When students actually learn how to apply them in order of frequency, students don't simply increase their scores; they become stronger in that subject and develop more confidence. I tell my students to take what they learn in our ACT English or ACT Reading sessions and apply those skills to their written work or academic reading in school.
One uncomfortable secret about the ACT exam is that it truly does reflect college readiness. It is for that reason that I approach ACT prep for English and Reading as the last opportunity to get students ready for the writing and reading they will need to do during their Freshman year. It isn't just about the exam today. It is about student success tomorrow.
