More and more high school students studying for ACT with hope of improving their scores
Ann Wilson of The Village Tutors in Hinsdale said preparation can really make a difference on standardized tests, as they are very predictable. (Jim Slonoff photo)
A car averages 27 miles per gallon. If gas costs $4.04 per gallon, which of the following is the closest to how much the gas would cost for this car to travel 2,727 typical miles.
A. $44.44
B. $109.08
C. $118.80
D. $408.04
E. $444.40
High school students will answer 60 questions - including some like the one above - in 60 minutes while taking the math portion of the ACT.
Many, like Hinsdale Central junior Jonathan Hurley, seek the help of a private tutor to improve their scores.
"I just met with a guy who did reading and English, and I had another tutor for math and science," Hurley said. "You just do homework outside of class."
He's already taken the ACT and plans to take it again. He's likely to receive a more favorable result, according to Ann Wilson of The Village Tutors in Hinsdale.
"The more you take it, the better you get," she said.
Wilson, who specializes in standardized test prep and college consulting, among other things, said preparation is key.
"I always tell students, 'It doesn't matter what kind of test prep you get as long as you get it,' " she said. "A standardized test is a predictable test. When you practice with real tests, you start to understand what a wrong answer looks like.
"It can be done at school in a class. It can be done with an individual like me," she continued. "It can be done on your own."
Khan Academy offers standardized test prep and the ACT and College Board publish study guides that include real tests for students to practice taking.
"That's what you want to use," she advised.
For those who sign up with a tutor, most people need eight to 10 sessions to review the four different sections of the ACT - English, math, science and reading. Wilson said she begins with reading.
"It's always the first thing I teach," she said. "I always teach the reading strategy first. Kids can get through a lot of school without reading a thing."
She said the pandemic has created a loss of focus and stamina in many students.
"These tests are reading tests. You're reading for two hours. Even the math - there are plenty of word problems there. You have to be comfortable looking at words and thinking about them and remembering what you've read," Wilson said.
Anxiety also plays a role, and Wilson said she spends a lot of time helping students learn how to handle it. She said practicing in a test-like environment and practicing every day - even if it's just one passage or one page - is key.
"Have that book open all the time and it will become so familiar to you, you'll be like, 'Oh, it's this again,' " she said.
Wilson recommends students take the test multiple times.
"They do kind of get momentum as they see their scores improving," she said. "Then they get eager. It's a great thing to see."
The SAT, which has been replaced by the ACT in Illinois as the primary standardized test for high school students, is so repetitive that it can quickly be mastered, Wilson said.
"They just keep adding 20 more points, 20 more points, 20 more points," she said of students who re-take the test.
And while most students don't enjoy taking standardized tests, she believes they have a role in the college application process. ACT scores are proven to align with college success.
"We can demonize these tests for sure, but there is a reason for them," she said.
And students should remember the score is only one part of the application.
"Can I use my test score to strengthen my application or at least to support it?" she suggests students ask themselves. "It just gives more credibility to everything else you're submitting."
Jonathan's mom, Cara Hurley, supports the time and money being spent on tutoring even though she never did any formal test prep in high school. She graduated from an all-girls college prep high school in Philadelphia in 1992.
"It's quite the process," she said of what her son is going through. "Very different from when I was going to school."
