Studying for the ACT Test

The best way of studying for the ACT test is surprising to most people, because studying the test material more is usually not the answer. The answer is not simply doing more practice tests either.

The key to studying for the ACT test is realizing that the majority of what is on the test is the material you have been mastering all throughout high school, and although a review is in order, the highest scores are gotten by the students who are good test takers.

Test taking skills are crucial, because knowing the material is not nearly enough. The ACT test is timed and everyone who has taken it will tell you that time management is the key. If you can't get all the questions answered in time, it really doesn't matter how much you know.

There are a few time management strategies that are commonly accepted but very, very wrong. The most popular "strategy" involves rushing through the early questions on the Math test because those are supposedly the easiest and you need to save time for the questions that are at the end. This is a horrible strategy.

The best way to study for the Math portion of the ACT test, for instance, is to master the "easy" questions so that you can quickly solve them and have more time for the harder ones. That means studying the "easy" stuff like pre-algebra and basic geometry. Most students get hung up on studying trigonometry, but there are only four trig questions on the whole Math test.

Remember that studying for the ACT test means learning test taking skills that will help you not only with the ACT, but all throughout college as well. Get an affordable, strategic ACT prep course that teaches these skills and you will be on your way to your best possible score.

How To Score High on the ACT Test

The secret to scoring high on the ACT test is NOT studying more and more. As a matter of fact, sometimes studying too much can actually hurt your score. The way to score high on the ACT test is to understand the test and have a strategy to beat it.

The first thing to know about the ACT is that it is a timed test. Sure, everyone knows that "time management" is important, but that 'knowledge' seldom changes the way students study.

Instead of focusing on the fact that time management is a key to scoring high on the ACT test, most students just resolve to "study everything they possibly can" so that they will know the answers and then hurry through the test. This is a recipe for disaster.

Instead of doing the same old thing and approaching the ACT test like everyone else, why not study SMART instead of just working harder?

Studying smart means that you learn the test taking skills necessary to quickly and accurately answer the questions so that you have plenty of time to get through each part of the test and you aren't stressed out for the next part.

Did you know that for the Math test, you shouldn't always try to solve the equation? Many times you can get to the right answer more quickly by combining estimating with guessing / ruling out. This is a specific test taking skill that takes less time and less mental energy, so that you are fresh when you finish the test instead of burned out.

So yes, the key to score high on the ACT is not just studying more subject matter. The key is to learn the test taking skills and strategies that will make you a great test taker, even after the ACT is just a memory.