1. ACT Prep HHS 2015 Created by the imaginations and hard work of others (particularly Jack Friedman with Study Smart Tutors) and edited by Mrs. Swift, including current information accessed on the internet and via our “Big Red Book”

3. Which of the following is true about the ACT? (A) The ACT measures with certainty how well you will do in life. It perfectly predicts your ability to succeed in high school and college classes as well as your activities outside the classroom. (B) The “A” in ACT stands for Aptitude because it measures your “intellectual aptitude” otherwise known as your intelligence. (C) The “A” in ACT stands for “Achievement” because it measures how much you have “achieved” or learned during your life as a student to this point. (D) The ACT tests your knowledge of the ACT.

4. What’s the point of the ACT?  THE ACT exam is what colleges use to compare students from different regions, schools, etc…  THE ACT is HOW you VALIDATE your grades!  Some colleges use ACT “College Readiness Benchmarks”

5. Setting Goals  Know what you’re getting yourself into before you start  Saying to yourself “I want to do well on the ACT” is a RECIPE FOR FAILURE!  Instead, define what “Well” means for YOU!

6. ACT PREP GOALS 1. What schools do I want to go to? 2. What ACT scores do those schools typically require? 3. How many questions do I need to answer correctly in each section? These are specific goals that you can actually reach!

7. ACT PREP GOALS Mississippi State UniversityAverage ACT Composite = 24Math, Reading, English, Science Math Scaled = 23, Reading Scaled = 25

8. Scaled ScoreEnglish (75 questions)Math (60 questions)Reading (40 questions)Science (40 questions) 36756040 3573-745939 3471-725838- 337056-573738 3269553637 3167-685435- 306652-533436 296550-5132-3335 2863-6448-493133-34 276245-473032 2660-6142-442930-31 2558-5940-4127-2828-29 2456-5737-392626-27 2354-5535-3624-2525 2252-5333-342323-24 2149-5131-322221-22 2046-4829-3020-2119-20 1943-4526-281918 41-4224-251816-17 1739-4021-2316-1715 1636-3817-201514 1533-3514-161413 1430-3211-1312-1312 1328-299-1011 1226-277-89-1010 1124-25689 1022-2356-77-8 920-214-6 817-19355 714-16-44 611-13233 58-10--- Average ACT scores are only slightly better than 50% correct!

9. How is the ACT Scored? The ACT is not scored in the same way that most tests. For every question you answer correctly, you will receive 1 raw point. There is NO PENALTY for answering questions incorrectly so… NEVER leave ACT answer bubbles BLANK!

10. How is the ACT scored? Each subject area of the test, math, reading and writing, is scored on a scale between 1 and 36. The four sub-scores are then averaged for a total score of between 1 and 36. The ACT is graded on a curve and each section is scaled so that the average score is approximately 21.

11. Setting Specific Goals  Work backwards…  Look for the “scaled score” that correspond to your chosen colleges  Note the corresponding “raw” score  On the ACT….raw score simply means # correct

12. Converting Scaled Scores to # Correct Raw= (# correct)No Guessing Penalty 36 Math Raw= 36 correct out of 60 36/60= 60% or F in HS Class

13. Scaled vs. Raw Scores  Scaled scores are the scores out of 36 on which colleges will base admissions  Once you figure out what scaled scores you will need to reach your goals, then you’ll be able to see what raw score you’ll need to get there!  Raw scores are your concern - let's do our best to increase the number correct!

14. Section I: ACT Basics

15. ACT Introduction: “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” -John Wooden Before we can succeed on the ACT, we need to understand what will be tested and how the questions will be asked.

16. What on the ACT? ACT Questions include (not in this order): 1. Math - (Fundamentals, Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry) 2. Reading - (Reading Comprehension) 3. English - (Grammar, Usage, Rhetoric, Mechanics) 4. Science - (Data Analysis, Interpretation, Reasoning, Problem-Solving)

17. Who writes the ACT? You may think that a bunch of college presidents get together each year to write the ACT Just because they are the ones who use the test doesn’t mean that they write it!

18. When is the Test Offered? Test dates and registration deadlines can be found by visiting ACT’s website, www.ACT.org ACT Exams are offered in… 1. September 12, 2015 (over) 2. October 24, 2015(registration over) 3. December 12, 2015 4. February 6, 2016 5. April 9, 2016 6. June 11, 2016 You must register on-line (takes about 30 minutes if you have not taken it before) and requires the upload of a photo to precise specifications. If you are unsure about this, please ask.

19. Section II: The Four (plus Writing) ACT Tests

20. 2013 - Section # QuestionsTimeAverage Score English754520.3 Math60 20.9 Reading403521.3 Science403520.8 Optional Writing Test 1 essay407

21. English Test 1. 45 Min for 75 Questions 2. 5 essays on the left side of the page, words/phrases underlined 3. These questions will test you on grammar, punctuation, structure, rhetoric, as well as style and organization.

22. Math Test  60 Minutes for 60 Questions  Not exactly in order of difficulty, but easier questions tend to come at the beginning and harder questions are at the end  Questions include pre-algebra, algebra, plane/coordinate geometry, and a little bit of trig

23. Reading Test  35 Min for 40 Questions  4 Total Passages  Prose Fiction: #1-10  Social Science: #11-20  Humanities: #21-30  Natural Science: #31-40 Each Passage will have 10 questions

24. Science Test  35 Min for 40 Questions  No specific science knowledge required but it covers biology, chemistry, earth/space science and physics  Will test your ability to interpret graphs, charts, and experiments – will have 1-2 reading passages.  *DATA REPRESENTATION (3)  RESEARCH SUMMARIES (3)  CONFLICTING VIEWPOINTS (1)

25. Writing Test (“Optional”)  One Prompt, 30 Minutes  You will be asked for your opinion  Two graders score from 1-6 each, total out of 12

26. Section III: Test-Taking Tips

27. The Test Booklet - Strategies PITA – Plug In The Answer POE – Process of Elimination POOD – Personal Order of Difficulty PIN – P lug I n a N umber Pacing

28. Plug in the Answer (PITA): Particularly in the Math section, some answers can be found more quickly by plugging in the answers. And the more time you save on one question, the more time you have to narrow your choices on other, more difficult questions.

29. Process of Elimination (POE): Every multiple choice question on the ACT has three or four wrong answers and only one correct answer. By looking for the wrong answers instead of the correct ones, you will often be left with just a few answer choices from which to make an educated guess.

30. Personal Order of Difficulty (POOD): Everyone has their Achille’s heel (look that up if you don’t know the reference)… If you have not taken trig, you will not want to waste time trying to figure those problems out until the end of the test. Likewise, if you have a brain blackout on the formula for slope, move on and leave those problems until the end. Spend your time at the start, quickly answering the questions that come to you easily. More on this in the next section, Outsmarting the ACT…

31. Pacing - Be Quick But Don’t Hurry On the ACT, every question is worth the same amount. How does this help you? 1. Don’t spend too much time on any one question AND 2. Don’t rush through problems that you know how to do. 3. Fill in your bubble sheet as you go and 4. Keep an eye on the clock to allow time to fill in ALL bubbles before time is called.

32. Here’s an Example: What is the capital of North Dakota? A. Billings B. Dallas C. Bismarck D. Fargo How can you use POE on this problem?

33. Section III: Outsmarting The ACT

34. Is the Test in Order of Difficulty?  ACT questions DO NOT follow a specific order of difficulty  In general, easy math questions come at the beginning  In science and reading, the more difficult passages tend to come at the end WE WANT TO FIND/ANSWER EASY QUESTIONS FIRST!

35. Easy vs. Medium vs. Hard  Imagine it’s your job to write ACT questions…  Think about the goal of each category of question (easy, medium, difficult)  Think about the type of student that is supposed to get easy questions correct vs. the type of student who is supposed to get hard questions correct  What type of student do the ACT writers want to get difficult questions correct?

36. Things to Remember EASY questions have EASY answers…trust your hunches MEDIUM questions have MEDIUM answers…be careful of your hunches DIFFICULT questions have DIFFICULT answers…don’t trust your hunches

37. Here is a “Difficult” Math Question… Cindy walked to work at an average speed of 6 miles an hour and biked back along the same route at 10 miles per hour. If her total traveling time was 2 hours, how many miles is it from her house to work? (A) 6 (B) 6.25 (C) 7.5 (D) 8 (E) 10

38. Put ACT Questions in Three Categories 1. Do Now-you know how to do it, and it won’t take that long 2. Do Later-you might know how to do it, but it’s going to take some time to figure out 3. Do Never-you have no idea how to solve, guess and move on

39. Guessing Blindly  Occasionally, you’ll have to take a random guess  When this happens, put yourself in the best possible position to succeed by doing the following…

40. Letter of the Day  On questions where you will be making a random guess, always choose the same letter  This will increase your chances of at least getting some of these questions correct  Only use this strategy when you cannot use any of the other methods to eliminate any answers