Hassle-Free Homework®: Certain skills needed for taking the ACT test

March 30, 2010 - PRLog -- Dear Dr. Fournier:

I’m a junior in high school and I have less than six weeks to prepare for the ACT. I want to do well, but with school and my part-time job, I don’t know if I can do it all.  I’m freaking and becoming more and more stressed as the days go by. I’ve tried doing the tests from my ACT prep book, but instead of getting better I get worse. On the practice test I missed 20 questions. I want my score to come up so I can be sure of getting into a good college and possibly even getting a scholarship. It just seems like so much and I am feeling overwhelmed. Do you have any suggestions that will help me?

Brad A.
Memphis, TN

Dear Brad:

College entrance exams measure more than the knowledge you have accumulated. They also rate your test-taking ability and know-how.

ASSESSMENT

Tests like the ACT try to determine whether you can analyze the information given; whether you can eliminate that which looks important yet not relevant to the question asked; and whether you can synthesize information to reach conclusions that will help you find the best answer.  

Just a month away from the ACT is not the time to learn content with intensity.  Concentrate on improving your test-taking abilities, such as time management and solving problems.

WHAT TO DO

In preparing for the ACT, keep the following tips in mind:

•   Scribble aggressively. In many schools, students taking achievement tests are told not to write in the booklets but the ACT is not an achievement test. You are allowed to write in your booklet and no one will ever see it.  

•   Use your pencil to mark the test in whatever way is helpful to you. Underline, circle, cross out or calculate – do anything that keeps you concentrating and focusing on what is relevant.

•   Answer every question. The ACT does not count off for wrong answers. Look at every answer, even if you think you have found the right one; there may be a better one. Eliminate the answers you feel are wrong, make your best choice and then move on. Don’t overanalyze.

•   In math, many problems can be solved without written calculations. Use this rule: Ballpark, eliminate and guess. Ballpark the answer eliminates answers obviously out of the ballpark and if you can’t select one answer, then make your best guess.

•   Manage time wisely. Memorize how much time you have to answer each question. Most are allowed one minute each, including rhetorical skills (ordering sentences into sequence), math, science research summaries, and conflicting viewpoints. Questions in the sections in English punctuation/word choice and science data representation are allotted 30 seconds each. For the four reading passages, you have eight to nine minutes to read the passage and answer the 10 questions following it. By practicing within these time limits, you will realize how much you can accomplish in 60 seconds.

•   Avoid time traps. Some questions are designed to trip you up. Don’t fall into these time traps! Instead, use a plus-or-minus system to prevent spending unnecessary time on tough questions. If you come to a question you believe you could get correct if you had more time, mark the question with a plus mark (+) in your booklet, skip the answer and move on. If you come to a question that would require a great deal of time – or one that you do not know – put a minus (-) sign in your booklet, give it your best guess and keep working. When you have finished that section of the test, if you have time left, you may go back to the plus marks where you can spend any “extra” time wisely.

•   Always practice for tests such as the ACT with purpose. Practice tests are essential and can help reduce many of your fears. Remember to focus on your test-taking strategies and not just how many questions you missed. Learning a new strategy from a wrong answer can be more useful than getting a perfect score while you are still practicing. Leave that for the real exam.


CONTACT DR. FOURNIER

Have a question about education, education-related issues or your child’s schoolwork or homework? Ask Dr. Fournier and look for her answer in this column. E-mail your question or comment to Dr. Yvonne Fournier at drfournier@hfhw.net.

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For 30 years, Dr. Yvonne Fournier has been helping children become more successful in school. Her column, "Hassle-Free Homework," was published by Scripps Howard News Service for 20 years. She holds her doctorate in education.