January 2011 Sessions (Estimated Eight Sessions in a 4 Week Rotation)

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Exam – Overview Part I Science

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science What are we talking about? As science students at Madison? And what tools do we need now?

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science The exam covers four (4) content areas: Biology; Chemistry; Earth/Space; Physics

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science The exam is also 40 questions to be answered in 35 minutes. ( We’ll get back to this a little bit later )

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science The exam also comes in three (3) “ flavors ”

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Data Representation Makes up about 38% of the science portion –or- about 15 of those 40 questions.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Research Summaries Makes up about 45% of the science portion –or- about 18 of those 40 questions.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Conflicting Viewpoints Makes up about 45% of the science portion –or- about 7 of those 40 questions.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summarizing so far… 40 questions

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summarizing so far… Four content areas  40 questions

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summarizing so far… Three Types of Passage Formats  40 questions  Four content areas

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summarizing so far… Data Representation  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats:

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summarizing so far… Research Summaries  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats: 1) Data Representation

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summarizing so far… Conflicting Viewpoints  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats: 1) Data Representation 2) Research Summaries

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summarizing so far…  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats: 1) Data Representation 2) Research Summaries 3) Conflicting Viewpoints

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science And… it is taken over a 35 minute period (less than one class on an “early release” day.  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats: 1) Data Representation 2) Research Summaries 3) Conflicting Viewpoints

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Summary so far:  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats: 1) Data Representation 2) Research Summaries 3) Conflicting Viewpoints  35 minutes

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science A “little side note”… The ACT test is designed to:  Frustrate the test taker;

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science A “little side note”… The ACT test is designed to:  Frustrate the test taker;  Fail the test taker who is impatient;

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science A “little side note”… The ACT test is designed to:  Frustrate the test taker;  Fail the test taker who is impatient;  Fail the test taker who doesn’t want to think;

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science A “little side note”… The ACT test is designed to:  Frustrate the test taker;  Fail the test taker who is impatient;  Fail the test taker who doesn’t want to think;  Locate the student who perseveres!!! (Guts things out in life).

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Before you think the last set of slides showing the aim of ACT tests [as] being “unfair”…  Does anyone in this session even know what ACT stands for?

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Before you think the last set of slides showing the aim of ACT tests [as] being “unfair”…  ACT stands for: American College Test

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Before you think the last set of slides showing the aim of ACT tests [as] being “unfair”… The ACT or (American College Test) Is designed to find high school students who would do well in a collegiate learning environment.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Before you think the last set of slides showing the aim of ACT tests [as] being “unfair”… With the difference being… […] in High School you learn a lot of “facts”. […] in College you learn to THINK with those facts (they ASSUME you know facts; the professors want to know what you can do with a new set of facts.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science Before you think the last set of slides showing the aim of ACT tests [as] being “unfair”… The reason is simple actually;  As an adult in life…  highly educated workers are expected to SOLVE new worthwhile problems as they arise in life or on the job. Problems that don’t – by definition - have a “ready” answer.  While a poorly educated worker will be TOLD what to do & when.  College deals with the 1 st group.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions So, let’s get back to the test itself and how it is laid out..

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions Remember this slide? ACT Science The exam covers four (4) content areas: Biology; Chemistry; Earth/Space; Physics

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions The four content areas will only have ONE or TWO Passages sets per content area… & no more. ONE to TWO Passage Sets for EACH

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions And by “Passages set” They mean… They give you a story or situation from which they will ask you multiple questions. ONE to TWO Passage Sets for EACH

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions But remember… The more questions they ask you on a given Passage Set… The more they use up their allotment of total questions by Content Area ONE to TWO Passage Sets for EACH

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions Or “flavor”… ONE to TWO Passage Sets for EACH

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science So let’s now add this bit of information to our Summary List:  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats: 1) Data Representation 2) Research Summaries 3) Conflicting Viewpoints  35 minutes  1 to 2 passage sets per Content Area

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions Budgeting our time for the Science part of the American College Test (ACT) More often than not… … you will have a version of the ACT test that will have LESS than 8 passage sets therefore; you can expect to have 5 full minutes per each set of 5 questions all on the same topic! (Not bad… not bad at all).

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions ACT Science So let’s now add this bit of information to our Summary List:  40 questions  Four content areas  Three Types of Passage Formats: 1) Data Representation 2) Research Summaries 3) Conflicting Viewpoints  35 minutes  1 to 2 passage sets per Content Area  Have 4 min – 22 sec  5 minutes per passage.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions Let’s now look at where you recently tested at –and – then look at some strategies to work in your favor.

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions On “average” as a group 95% of us tested around a middle score of 14 with a variation of +/- 3 points. Average = 14

ACT Science Prep Advisory Sessions On “average” as a group 95% of us tested around a middle score of 14 with a variation of +/- 3 points. Average = = 17-3 = 11