Make The Most Of Winter Break With These Top ACT® & SAT® Test-Prep Strategies
The holiday season is here and winter break is drawing near, which—in addition to a much-anticipated respite from school—is a great opportunity for students to pinpoint the most effective test-prep strategies to use as they gear up for their upcoming ACT® or SAT®.
For your clients who took one of the fall ACTs® or SATs®, winter break is an ideal time to look over those test results and assess what they mean. What areas did they master? Which types of problems gave them pause? Where do they need extra support? Did they have any time-management issues?
Winter break is an excellent chance for our students to reflect on their past performance, shift some gears, and develop a fresh study plan with improved strategies to help them improve their next performance.
ACT® & SAT® Test-Prep Strategies
Students should already have their basic testing strategies down pat:
Read section directions before beginning.
Read actively, don’t skip straight to the questions.
Eliminate incorrect answers first.
The first response is typically the best choice.
There is only one best or correct choice.
Don’t leave any questions blank.
Know what to expect on each section of the test.
By test day, students should have had plenty of testing practice already, and feel comfortable with what to expect throughout the test. They’ve also most likely tried a few different types of strategies when approaching the sections of the tests, respectively.
For those students who have taken the test and don’t feel that the testing strategies they used were especially productive or for students who have yet to zero-in on the testing strategies that match their individual learning style, winter break is an opportune time to do so.
Here are some test-prep tactics particular to each of the test sections that will undoubtedly help your students find the best match for their study styles:
Reading Section Strategies
Students should already know that the reading section requires them to read—a lot. The purpose of this section is to assess their reading comprehension with a wide variety of subjects and genres: fiction, non-fiction, poetry; science, social science, humanities, literary fiction. By test day, students should be familiar with reading an array of topics and styles.
While reading passages on the forthcoming Digital SAT® are about to become much shorter, reading passages on the current ACT® and SAT® continue to vary in length. Regardless, students should try their best to read the entire text before diving into the questions.
After reading the text(s), test takers need to consider the following:
The title of the text
The introduction to the text (typically a short synopsis either about the author or the text itself), if included
The main idea of the text(s)
The author’s main objective in writing the text
Line reference numbers
The FIRST and LAST sentences of each paragraph
The relationships between people, events, and ideas (this is particularly important for paired passages)
The reading section involves comprehension and critical reading skills. Unsurprisingly, the best way to improve on these is to practice reading. For more tips on how to attack the ACT® and SAT® reading sections, click here.
English / Writing & Language Section Strategies
The ACT® English and SAT® Writing and Language portions assess the test takers’ reading and writing abilities by testing their knowledge of usage and mechanics (i.e., punctuation, syntax and grammar, sentence structure) and rhetorical skills (i.e., strategy, style, organization).
After reading the text(s), test takers need to:
Determine what is being asked. That is, is this question about punctuation, verb tense, misplaced modifiers, relevance?
Focus on the exact piece of the text/sentence in question.
Approach fill-in-the-blank questions by reading the sentence using every answer choice to determine which answer makes the most sense.
Approach suggestion change questions by asking: which answer helps develop the text? Does a change need to be made here? If not, “NO CHANGE” is the best choice.
Approach standard English conventions questions by asking: does the sentence structure make sense or is it a possible fragment (missing its subject or main verb) or a run-on? And be sure to have an understanding of what or whom is being referred to before answering these types of questions.
Consider economy of words—precise and concise answers are typically the best answers.
The English/writing and language section requires a solid grasp on grammar and punctuation rules. The best way to prepare for this section is to practice. Be sure to provide your clients with ample opportunities to practice and perfect their writing and language skills. Editing first draft texts as well as grammar and punctuation practice sheets are great ways for students to hone those skills.
Math Section Strategies
The math sections of the ACT® and SAT® examine test takers’ ability to apply problem-solving skills to real-world situations.
A major determiner of success on the math sections is effective time management. Students need to be able to keep a steady pace, and know how to navigate potential time-consuming snags.
The math sections are all about preparing before the test. A fundamental part of effective test prep for math is memorizing key formulas, definitions, and concepts. Doing so will absolutely help your students be better prepared—no matter if the question is about geometry or probability and statistics. It is worth noting that while many formulas may appear on the test itself, students who have already internalized them and have had experience manipulating them will have an easier time engaging with questions quickly and effectively.
Another important aspect of the math tests is choosing when, if allowed, to use a calculator or not. There are some questions that are designed to measure the test taker’s ability to reason; for those questions, answering without the calculator tends to be a more logical move. That said, there are plenty of problems where a calculator (particularly a graphing calculator) can provide a valuable shortcut for solving and/or checking certain algebraic equations and systems. Students need to be able to make these calculator-related decisions quickly to maximize their efficiency on test day.
That said, on test day, tests takers need to:
Look at the relevant materials. Is there a chart or graph? A model or diagram significant to the question? If so, pay attention to any of the titles or subtitles on charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, or models—that information matters.
Read the question carefully and thoroughly so that they fully understand what they are looking for and how best to answer.
Eliminate the incorrect answers first. Almost every wrong answer is tied to a specific mistake a student might make in calculation or interpretation. If a student can recognize these common errors, it can make narrowing down choices even easier.
Avoid getting stuck on time-sucking calculations. For any problems that have students feeling stumped, advise them to do their best to narrow down their options and settle on the best possible choice.
Some problems can be back-solved by inserting the answer choices into an equation or expression and testing for validity. This can often be faster than completing complex computations and manipulations.
Answer all questions, don’t leave any answers blank.
Math knowledge builds on itself, so be sure that your students have a solid basic math foundation to build upon. While you may have a client working on acing trigonometry questions, don’t overlook keeping the simpler math concepts fresh. Practice a variety of math problems that review even the most basic math skills.
For more tips on how to approach the ACT® and SAT® math sections, click here.
Science Section (ACT® only) Strategies
The ACT® science section is less about specific content or memorizing formulas, definitions, and concepts and more about the test taker’s ability to apply scientific skills to interpret texts, graphs, charts, tables, and figures. Scientific skills are presented in a variety of applications and subject areas: earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics.
The most important scientific skills tested are:
Interpreting and analyzing data (e.g., graphs, tables, diagrams, and written text)
Identifying and evaluating hypotheses
Critical reading
Evaluating experimental design, execution, and results
Using context clues to grapple with new information
And, just like the math sections, a major determiner of success on the science section is effective time management.
On test day, tests takers need to:
Recognize and understand how to examine data provided through charts, graphs, diagrams, or tables. The best way to do so is by practicing data analysis with scales, y- and x-axes, data titles and headings.
Know how to read scientific texts using critical reading skills.
Have a working knowledge of the scientific method and how it applies to both experimentation and research.
Consider the following information when reading scientific texts:
The title of the text
The main idea of the text(s)
The author’s main objective in writing the text
Line reference numbers
The FIRST and LAST sentences of each paragraph
The purpose of each paragraph
The relationships between events and ideas (this is particularly important for paired passages/studies that students will likely have to compare and contrast)
Know how to extract relevant information through context clues. Is there an unknown key term mentioned? Odds are high that the surrounding sentences will provide sufficient information for the student to understand the new terminology.
For more tips on how to approach the ACT® science section, click here and here.
Winter break is an ideal time for our clients to review their current test-prep plans, consider ways in which those plans can be improved upon, and set new goals for the new year. With ACT® and SAT® winter test dates fast approaching, now is the best time to make sure that our clients are sufficiently prepared to perform their very best.
Looking to give your test-prep offerings an upgrade? Considering ways in which you and your tutoring company can improve in the new year? Contact us to schedule a demo and find out how Clear Choice Prep can give you and your business the tools and support it needs to ring in a great new year!