Practice ACT score

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scores on the science section tend to be more variable, not random necessarily, but a lot more variable. On math, Alg II will help, which is one of the reasons scores tend to be higher when kids take it after completing A 2, and on the ACT, there is more time pressure than SAT so a kid needs to be able to work quickly.

OP here. Thanks for this...this is the most helpful explanation and I appreciate it! DS took geometry last year and will be taking A2 this year, so that makes sense. Also, he gets time and a half on the test, so the time constraint would not apply to him. He will be taking SAT soon to see which test suits him best. Trying to get in front of this now rather than wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Why do you think so many score poorly on the science section?

OP here. We had opposite situation. DS who is brilliant in math got only 26 in math section, but 32 in science. Very puzzling, but he has yet to start his sophomore year.

Why would a freshman -brilliant or not - be taking the ACT. I can see taking the old SAT since that was more of an aptitude test. But the ACT does pretty much measure what you know.

Yea it is silly since most have not completed Algebra 2 yet and the ones that have have not taken Algebra 1 since 7th grade.

We are taking both SAT and ACT practice tests to decide which one we will focus on. If DS does best on ACT, then we won't bother with the SAT and focus his prep on ACT. He gets time and a half, so I think ACT may be best approach considering the test is has stricter time constraints from what I have read, so he will have a big advantage here. Am I right about this?

[Anonymous]

OP - sounds like your kid is having a fun summer!

If you paused for a second and thought about it, you would probably realize that a brilliant rising sophomore, who is scoring in the 97% range on the ACT before taking Algebra 2 or Trig (which are both on the ACT), is likely to naturally get at least a 33/34 on the real thing if he just takes it during his junior year without doing ANY prep at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Why do you think so many score poorly on the science section?

OP here. We had opposite situation. DS who is brilliant in math got only 26 in math section, but 32 in science. Very puzzling, but he has yet to start his sophomore year.

Why would a freshman -brilliant or not - be taking the ACT. I can see taking the old SAT since that was more of an aptitude test. But the ACT does pretty much measure what you know.

Yea it is silly since most have not completed Algebra 2 yet and the ones that have have not taken Algebra 1 since 7th grade.

We are taking both SAT and ACT practice tests to decide which one we will focus on. If DS does best on ACT, then we won't bother with the SAT and focus his prep on ACT. He gets time and a half, so I think ACT may be best approach considering the test is has stricter time constraints from what I have read, so he will have a big advantage here. Am I right about this?

Need to be careful about taking "both" and then deciding....some college will insist that you submit ALL test scores that you have taken. The good, bad and the ugly. And, they obviously won't know your score if you don't submit but they'll find out you took the test as the students check that box to receive college materials. The schools do see those list of names. If you have not submitted the score your application is toast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Why do you think so many score poorly on the science section?

OP here. We had opposite situation. DS who is brilliant in math got only 26 in math section, but 32 in science. Very puzzling, but he has yet to start his sophomore year.

Why would a freshman -brilliant or not - be taking the ACT. I can see taking the old SAT since that was more of an aptitude test. But the ACT does pretty much measure what you know.

Yea it is silly since most have not completed Algebra 2 yet and the ones that have have not taken Algebra 1 since 7th grade.

We are taking both SAT and ACT practice tests to decide which one we will focus on. If DS does best on ACT, then we won't bother with the SAT and focus his prep on ACT. He gets time and a half, so I think ACT may be best approach considering the test is has stricter time constraints from what I have read, so he will have a big advantage here. Am I right about this?

Need to be careful about taking "both" and then deciding....some college will insist that you submit ALL test scores that you have taken. The good, bad and the ugly. And, they obviously won't know your score if you don't submit but they'll find out you took the test as the students check that box to receive college materials. The schools do see those list of names. If you have not submitted the score your application is toast.

No, he would only take one. We are just practicing now to decide which one to prep for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Why do you think so many score poorly on the science section?

OP here. We had opposite situation. DS who is brilliant in math got only 26 in math section, but 32 in science. Very puzzling, but he has yet to start his sophomore year.

Why would a freshman -brilliant or not - be taking the ACT. I can see taking the old SAT since that was more of an aptitude test. But the ACT does pretty much measure what you know.

Yea it is silly since most have not completed Algebra 2 yet and the ones that have have not taken Algebra 1 since 7th grade.

We are taking both SAT and ACT practice tests to decide which one we will focus on. If DS does best on ACT, then we won't bother with the SAT and focus his prep on ACT. He gets time and a half, so I think ACT may be best approach considering the test is has stricter time constraints from what I have read, so he will have a big advantage here. Am I right about this?

Need to be careful about taking "both" and then deciding....some college will insist that you submit ALL test scores that you have taken. The good, bad and the ugly. And, they obviously won't know your score if you don't submit but they'll find out you took the test as the students check that box to receive college materials. The schools do see those list of names. If you have not submitted the score your application is toast.

they want to see your DC's testing history. they want to make sure your DC is not a professional test taker - taking multiple tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - sounds like your kid is having a fun summer!

If you paused for a second and thought about it, you would probably realize that a brilliant rising sophomore, who is scoring in the 97% range on the ACT before taking Algebra 2 or Trig (which are both on the ACT), is likely to naturally get at least a 33/34 on the real thing if he just takes it during his junior year without doing ANY prep at all.

I know right? Honestly, he only is taking two days out of his summer for practice tests to determine which one works better for him. He hasn't done any prep work at all...too early for that! Feeling pretty confident he will do fine on the math once he has a year of AII etc. under his belt. Imagine he will be 35 or 36 after the prep, which we will definitely invest in. It just really threw me with the huge differential between math ant other subjects, but now I understand. Thank you all and Good Night!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Why do you think so many score poorly on the science section?

OP here. We had opposite situation. DS who is brilliant in math got only 26 in math section, but 32 in science. Very puzzling, but he has yet to start his sophomore year.

Why would a freshman -brilliant or not - be taking the ACT. I can see taking the old SAT since that was more of an aptitude test. But the ACT does pretty much measure what you know.

Yea it is silly since most have not completed Algebra 2 yet and the ones that have have not taken Algebra 1 since 7th grade.

We are taking both SAT and ACT practice tests to decide which one we will focus on. If DS does best on ACT, then we won't bother with the SAT and focus his prep on ACT. He gets time and a half, so I think ACT may be best approach considering the test is has stricter time constraints from what I have read, so he will have a big advantage here. Am I right about this?

Need to be careful about taking "both" and then deciding....some college will insist that you submit ALL test scores that you have taken. The good, bad and the ugly. And, they obviously won't know your score if you don't submit but they'll find out you took the test as the students check that box to receive college materials. The schools do see those list of names. If you have not submitted the score your application is toast.

they want to see your DC's testing history. they want to make sure your DC is not a professional test taker - taking multiple tests.

Thanks for the heads up, but he will only take one test. Right now he is only taking practice tests to determine which one he does best with...then we will prep for one test and take one test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Why do you think so many score poorly on the science section?

OP here. We had opposite situation. DS who is brilliant in math got only 26 in math section, but 32 in science. Very puzzling, but he has yet to start his sophomore year.

Why would a freshman -brilliant or not - be taking the ACT. I can see taking the old SAT since that was more of an aptitude test. But the ACT does pretty much measure what you know.

Yea it is silly since most have not completed Algebra 2 yet and the ones that have have not taken Algebra 1 since 7th grade.

We are taking both SAT and ACT practice tests to decide which one we will focus on. If DS does best on ACT, then we won't bother with the SAT and focus his prep on ACT. He gets time and a half, so I think ACT may be best approach considering the test is has stricter time constraints from what I have read, so he will have a big advantage here. Am I right about this?

Need to be careful about taking "both" and then deciding....some college will insist that you submit ALL test scores that you have taken. The good, bad and the ugly. And, they obviously won't know your score if you don't submit but they'll find out you took the test as the students check that box to receive college materials. The schools do see those list of names. If you have not submitted the score your application is toast.

they want to see your DC's testing history. they want to make sure your DC is not a professional test taker - taking multiple tests.

Thanks for the heads up, but he will only take one test. Right now he is only taking practice tests to determine which one he does best with...then we will prep for one test and take one test.

that's the right way to do it. also keep in mind a lot of schools superscore tests so your DC might want to consider taking the same test at least twice.

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scores on the science section tend to be more variable, not random necessarily, but a lot more variable. On math, Alg II will help, which is one of the reasons scores tend to be higher when kids take it after completing A 2, and on the ACT, there is more time pressure than SAT so a kid needs to be able to work quickly.

OP here. Thanks for this...this is the most helpful explanation and I appreciate it! DS took geometry last year and will be taking A2 this year, so that makes sense. Also, he gets time and a half on the test, so the time constraint would not apply to him. He will be taking SAT soon to see which test suits him best. Trying to get in front of this now rather than wait.

We will have to apply for extension of time for our dc as well. Does your dc have an iep or 504? Does he always use his extra time on tests/quizzes all the time? My dc often does not, so I'm thinking we will be denied extension although she has 504 allowing for extra time in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scores on the science section tend to be more variable, not random necessarily, but a lot more variable. On math, Alg II will help, which is one of the reasons scores tend to be higher when kids take it after completing A 2, and on the ACT, there is more time pressure than SAT so a kid needs to be able to work quickly.

OP here. Thanks for this...this is the most helpful explanation and I appreciate it! DS took geometry last year and will be taking A2 this year, so that makes sense. Also, he gets time and a half on the test, so the time constraint would not apply to him. He will be taking SAT soon to see which test suits him best. Trying to get in front of this now rather than wait.

We will have to apply for extension of time for our dc as well. Does your dc have an iep or 504? Does he always use his extra time on tests/quizzes all the time? My dc often does not, so I'm thinking we will be denied extension although she has 504 allowing for extra time in school.

DS is in private school and has accommodations (time and a half). He does not use extra time that often, but does for mid-term and final exams. He does use it for any sort of standardized testing. Even if he finishes on time, he uses the extra time to check answers.

You will not be denied extra time if you have a diagnosis from a psychologist. You would need to get the neuro psych testing done if you haven't already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scores on the science section tend to be more variable, not random necessarily, but a lot more variable. On math, Alg II will help, which is one of the reasons scores tend to be higher when kids take it after completing A 2, and on the ACT, there is more time pressure than SAT so a kid needs to be able to work quickly.

OP here. Thanks for this...this is the most helpful explanation and I appreciate it! DS took geometry last year and will be taking A2 this year, so that makes sense. Also, he gets time and a half on the test, so the time constraint would not apply to him. He will be taking SAT soon to see which test suits him best. Trying to get in front of this now rather than wait.

We will have to apply for extension of time for our dc as well. Does your dc have an iep or 504? Does he always use his extra time on tests/quizzes all the time? My dc often does not, so I'm thinking we will be denied extension although she has 504 allowing for extra time in school.

DS is in private school and has accommodations (time and a half). He does not use extra time that often, but does for mid-term and final exams. He does use it for any sort of standardized testing. Even if he finishes on time, he uses the extra time to check answers.

You will not be denied extra time if you have a diagnosis from a psychologist. You would need to get the neuro psych testing done if you haven't already.

Thank you for responding. What is the diagnosis? ADHD? We do have a neuropsych evaluation for language disability, no attention issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scores on the science section tend to be more variable, not random necessarily, but a lot more variable. On math, Alg II will help, which is one of the reasons scores tend to be higher when kids take it after completing A 2, and on the ACT, there is more time pressure than SAT so a kid needs to be able to work quickly.

OP here. Thanks for this...this is the most helpful explanation and I appreciate it! DS took geometry last year and will be taking A2 this year, so that makes sense. Also, he gets time and a half on the test, so the time constraint would not apply to him. He will be taking SAT soon to see which test suits him best. Trying to get in front of this now rather than wait.

We will have to apply for extension of time for our dc as well. Does your dc have an iep or 504? Does he always use his extra time on tests/quizzes all the time? My dc often does not, so I'm thinking we will be denied extension although she has 504 allowing for extra time in school.

DS is in private school and has accommodations (time and a half). He does not use extra time that often, but does for mid-term and final exams. He does use it for any sort of standardized testing. Even if he finishes on time, he uses the extra time to check answers.

You will not be denied extra time if you have a diagnosis from a psychologist. You would need to get the neuro psych testing done if you haven't already.

Thank you for responding. What is the diagnosis? ADHD? We do have a neuropsych evaluation for language disability, no attention issue.

Yes ADHD and slow processing. We applied for the extra time when he was in 8th grade, so when he takes the PSAT he will get the accommodation.

[Anonymous]

A diagnosis from a psychologist is not necessarily enough to get testing accommodations for ACT or SAT. It is much harder than it used to be.