your act percentile ranking tells you how you did compared to everyone else on the act test. act percentiles are, in some ways, even more important than your actual act score. why? because they provide an easy way to compare your performance on the act to other test-takers overall, providing you with important information for your act prep.

read on for everything you need to know about act score percentiles.

how are act score percentiles calculated?

act percentiles are calculated by comparing one act score to the distribution of scores of all the students who took the act at a given time. on your act score report, the lowest percentile possible is the 1st percentile and the top percentile is the 99th percentile (it’s impossible to score at the 100th percentile because that would mean that your act score is higher than your score, which makes no sense!).

as a standardized test, the act is intentionally designed to get most students scoring at the 50th percentile mark. the following infographic might help you visualize the act score distribution:

act scores and their corresponding percentiles tend to stay the same year to year. so, for example, scoring a 32+ typically means you did better than 97% of test-takers and scoring a 26 typically means that you did better than 82% of test-takers. (note that these scores don’t mean that you scored a 97% or a 82%, respectively, on the test.)
 

how to find your act score percentile

on your act score report, you’ll see your act score breakdown represented by several percentile scores—you’ll not only be able to see your composite percentile, percentiles for each subject area subscore, and percentiles for stem and ela subscores, but you’ll also see these percentiles in terms of your u.s. rank and your state rank.

here’s a snippet from a model act score report:
 

if you haven’t taken the act yet and you’re wondering where your practice test scores fall in the act distribution, you would first need to make sure that your raw score is converted to your scaled score for each subject area (except for the act writing test) as well as the composite score.

then, you can use the below act percentile chart to match all five scores to their corresponding percentiles, based on the most recently-released data. (to score your essay and determine your act writing score percentile, check out this post about what makes a good act writing score.)

act percentiles for composite score and subscores

this act percentiles information is provided by act.org.

*this chart represents the cumulative percentages rather than percentile scores. if any of your scores correspond with 100, you would be at the 99th percentile.

what is a good act percentile?

while it may be useful to know your act percentile as determined by the national or statewide distribution of scores, it’s not necessarily the best tool to determine what a good act percentile might be for you.

you may think that scoring at the 90th percentile nationally at least means that you have a competitive score for any school in the country (and to be fair, that would be the case for the vast majority of colleges and universities).

but for elite schools (where the average act score is around 33), scoring even at the 95th percentile might not be enough, especially if the rest of your application has some flaws. on the flip side, scoring below the 90th percentile mark could still allow you to be a great candidate at top state universities around the country.

this is because for pretty much any school in the u.s., a good act score percentile is anywhere in the middle 50% (25th percentile-75th percentile) of the score distribution of accepted students specifically at the schools you’re interested in —and that differs notably from school to school.

for example, at the prestigious university of chicago, their 25th percentile score of accepted students is 21 while their 75th percentile is 36. meanwhile, at the university of texas-austin, a phenomenal school in its own right, their middle 50% scores range from 27 to 33 (act test scores were not a required component for application to the class of 2025).

while schools don’t release their own act score percentile charts, they do release the score range of their middle 50% of students. you can check out more score ranges of the top 100 u.s. universities in our post about act scores. use this data to help you figure out the middle 50% ranges of your target schools—or better yet, the scores you need to go beyond the 75th percentile in order to maximize your chances of getting in.

how do colleges use act percentiles?

for college admissions offices, your act percentile is probably not as important as your act score. this is because the school’s act score range (as determined by the middle 50% at their school) is the information that admissions officers have handy; so, they don’t actually need to calculate your act percentile to see how your score falls into the middle 50% score range.

that being said, your national act percentile can provide an easy way of determining how you stack up to other students applying. because applicants send in scores from the act and sat, college admissions teams need some way to compare these scores. so for admissions officers who don’t have the act to sat score conversion memorized (a.k.a. most of them!), they are likely to take notice of your percentile rank as well.

how to use act score percentiles to improve your score

if you have plans to retake the act, the act percentiles provide valuable perspective to help you be strategic with your test prep: how much you might need to study and which subject areas take higher priority.

let’s take a look at our model score report once more:
 

with just a cursory look at the scores, you can see that this student is stronger at the stem subjects than the ela subjects. but the percentiles better show the magnitude of difference between these two areas and provide more of a sense of urgency to focus on ela.

although it is certainly fine to be stronger in one subject than another, you don’t want any one subject to drag down your score or percentile too much. colleges would use this information to note that you are weak in certain areas.

looking at this student’s scores alone can also make it seem like they might have to spend roughly the same amount of time studying for reading and english. or that the student might need to spend more time bringing up their math score to be more on par with their science score. when looking at the percentiles, however, you can see how the difference between the student’s performance on english and reading is significant and that they should prioritize studying for reading before other tests.

the state rank also provides some important perspective when it comes to prioritizing what to study for the act retake. if you’re only applying to public schools in your state, for example, your state percentile rank might give you a better sense of your competition than the national rank.

if your state rank is better than your national rank, you may be able to somewhat reduce the pressure to do well on a retake; conversely, if your state rank is worse than your national rank, you’d have to prepare yourself to hit the books.

in either case, you’d still want to dedicate as much time as possible to studying because the higher the act score, the more competitive of an applicant you’ll be.

key takeaway

hopefully, after reading this post, you’ll have a better understanding of act percentiles and the scores you should aim for (if you haven’t taken the act yet). if you have, then hopefully you have a better sense of whether you’re on track with your current act percentile or if you need to aim higher.

if it’s the latter, we have plenty of resources to help you to improve your act score! our blog is full of free resources, such as how to improve your act score by 10 points or how to structure your act study schedule.

for even more structured support and practice, you can check out our magoosh act app, which is guaranteed to increase your score by 4 points.

wherever you may be on your act journey, we at magoosh wish you all the best!

the post act percentiles – how to find act score percentiles appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

if the phrase “word problems” makes you want to throw your sat prep materials at the wall, know that you’re definitely not alone. word problems are hard if you’re not used to translating them into numbers. and the bad news? the sat math section loooves their word problems — they comprise 25% of the math section!

but wait, before you actually destroy your sat prep book or, worse, your laptop, know that anyone can become an sat word problem master with some practice. even if you’re a pro at making mathematical equations out of word problems, this post will cover tactics to help you solve word problems in record time.

the different strategies for tackling sat word problems

as if word problems weren’t hard enough, not all word problems are created equal. some want you to create an equation, some want you to pick an equation, and some are just bent on sounding like this: if the number of apples mary has is twice the absolute value of chocolate, how many zebras on train b will travel to san diego on shmoople zeeple heeple?

to master sat word problems, you need to become familiar with different types of sat word problems and what strategy — or combination of strategies — is best for the problem and easiest for you. there are three main strategies for word problems: active reading, process of elimination, and picking numbers.

active reading: you have might have learned of the active reading strategy on the sat, which is when you go through the reading comprehension passages while underlining or taking notes to better remember and make sense of the material. but this strategy also comes in pretty handy for sat math word problems and can easily be combined with the strategies below. click here to see a few examples of active reading in practice.

process of elimination: process of elimination is when you plug in answer choices in the context of the problem. obviously, it only works when there are answer choices. if you feel like active reading is going to slow you down, definitely try process of elimination — click here for an example!

picking numbers: sometimes word problems have equations in the question and answer choices. if this is the case, picking numbers and plugging them into given equations is a great strategy to speed things up. to see picking numbers in action, click here.

active reading and sat math

while it may feel like it takes longer than reading passively, active reading for the right kind of sat word problem will actually save you a ton of time in the long run. why? because active reading forces you to work through problems as you’re reading them and by doing so, you often find yourself at or near the answer by the time you’re done reading the question.

don’t believe me? check out how active reading works in this problem:

 
yikes, even i’m getting a headache looking at it and i’ve read it already. but before we get overwhelmed by all these words, understand that the key to approaching these types of problems is a two-step process:

step 1. draw your attention to the numbers and what they mean in the context of the problem.

 
step 2. pay close attention to what you’re supposed to answer.

 
now check out the slides below to see an example of how active reading and annotations help you get to the answer. in this example, i used both underlining and notes in the margin. both options are good if you’re new to active reading for sat word problems, but i prefer just writing notes in the margin because it saves time while helping me create the equation that i need to solve.

drawing word problems

if you’re still not comfortable working with equations, there’s a different type of active reading strategy you can try: sketching the situation out. in fact, for most test-takers, drawing out the problem can be faster even if you are comfortable with equations.

let’s try it out with the same question from above:

 
by just drawing some of carrie’s crummy friends, we’ll get there faster. (alright, so on the actual sat, you won’t have the luxury or the time to create such a masterpiece. you’ll just draw some circles and squares, or something similar.)

it’s pretty clear on seeing this that 2/7 of the friends have snacks and 5/7 don’t. you can also see the difference is 3/7.

the takeaway? it’s a lot easier to stay focused and get your foot in the door of sat word problems if you start sketching out the situation like this. even if you saw the mathematical relationship pretty quickly in this example, there will almost definitely be more difficult problems on the sat that are best drawn, at least in the beginning. and if the math becomes clear soon after, then great — the picture has served its purpose.

simplifying sat word problems by elimination

because the sat is mostly multiple-choice, you don’t really have to understand how to transform word problems into equations for a lot of the questions. you can use the answers to your advantage and totally circumvent it.

not sure where to start on a question? did drawing the situation fall flat?

then take a look at the answer choices. if there are concrete numbers there (and not algebraic expressions), then you should try putting some of them through the process that the word problem describes. like drawing, the process of elimination is often faster than straightforward math.

below is a relatively basic example. why don’t you give it a shot first using elimination?

 
as you can see with the above example, we’re done just like that. once you’re practiced with process of elimination, you’ll find that doing it in your head is even faster!

word problems and picking numbers

our last sat word problems strategy is picking numbers, which is pretty straightforward. the other easy thing about picking numbers for word problems is that this strategy only works when there is a real equation in either the question or answer choice.

check out the problem below and pick some easy numbers for h and d.

takeaway: with practice comes perfect

if we’ve done our job correctly with this sat word problems post, i hope you’re feeling a little less “huh?” and a bit more zen and that you’re itching to put some of these strategies into practice. if you liked our practice questions, there’s more of that where that came from on our sat web app, where we give you a 100-point guarantee or your money back.

while these strategies won’t help you become a word problem master overnight, they are a great starting point to building up your active reading, elimination, and picking numbers muscle, and pretty soon, you’ll be able to put your own spin on these techniques to get to solutions faster and best suited for your learning style. happy studying!

thanks to lucas fink for his contribution to this post, especially for his enviable ms paint skills!

the post sat math: word problems appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

if you’re looking for the best free act prep online, you’re in the right place! as with many things in life, the internet can be a black hole of test prep resources and act study sites are no exception. there are some good resources, some not so good, some free and some exorbitantly priced. lucky for you, we did the hard work of researching for you!

here are the 15 best free act prep websites, apps, and online resources you can find.

free websites and apps

1. official act website

the official act website, actstudent.org, is not just a place to take care of act logistics, such as signing up for the test and getting your scores. there is also a ton of valuable test prep material if you know where to look. this includes sample questions, sample student essays, college admissions planning advice, and, yes, a full-length 2022世界杯入门名单 pdf made up of real act questions that are no longer in use.

navigating the official act website is a bit confusing since there are so many resources, so check out our detailed post on which parts of the official act website are the most helpful for test-takers.

2. full-length practice tests from act and magoosh

throughout the years, the act has released additional practice tests made up of real act questions. you can find links to these, along with a full-length practice test from magoosh, in 2022世界杯入门名单s with answers and explanations.

3. magoosh act blog

disclaimer: we actually happen to think you are already using some of the best act prep online! but, yeah, we’re biased.

our mission with the magoosh act blog is to bring you high-quality advice on what to study, how to study, and what is going on with the act test in general. helping students is something we are truly passionate about and we work hard to make sure we are giving you the best advice.

to make the most of our resources, you would definitely want to check out our act study plans, our free act ebook, and our our free full-length practice test.

and then you can use the search box to find what you are looking for in terms of strategy, advice, reviews of act prep books, tips for test day, video lessons, and so much more. (if we don’t have what you are looking for, just let us know in the comments and we will get right on it ).

what people say about the magoosh act blog:

4. magoosh act apps

our free act apps are super useful study resources for when you are on the bus, in line, or otherwise on the go. both are available as web apps or mobile apps.

we have our act flashcards app, which has over 200 flashcards to give you practice with the most commonly-tested english, math, and science concepts. we also have our free act prep app, equipped with over 100 video tutorials and practice questions for every act exam section. in fact, you can get over 100 act lessons and practice questions for free!

what people say about the magoosh act test prep apps:

5. pocket prep app

the pocket prep app is another great app for studying on the go. the free version has a small bank of questions, 14 days worth of question of the days, and chat support.

there is nothing like taking paper-based practice tests to make sure you’re the most prepared for test day. but apps are some of the best online act prep because they make it so easy to fit practice into the nooks and crannies of your schedule. sometimes it feels like you’re not even prepping!

what people say about the pocket prep app:

6. the magoosh act youtube channel

if online courses aren’t your thing, the magoosh youtube channel has nearly 100 videos (and counting!) on all the act tips and strategies you could think of. in the spirit of this post, you might want to check out the following video, which discusses some additional online resources you may want to consider for your act prep that aren’t covered in this post:

what people say about the magoosh act youtube channel:

but enough about us. there are other great act prep youtube channels as well! read on for two others that we recommend.

7. the supertutortv youtube channel

like magoosh, supertutortv has a growing and excellent collection of videos detailing various act tips and strategies. what differs supertutortv from other act prep channels is the quality of their video production, which might be useful for highly visual learners. an added bonus of this channel is that it has additional videos about student life, such as stress management, college admissions, and more.

what people say about the supertutortv youtube channel:

8. the best act prep youtube channel

although best act prep is no longer releasing new videos, its collection of 56 videos is considered the best online act prep by many students (at least judging by the comments). their videos are much shorter than those of the other channels featured here and are packed with information. if you like your videos to be without frills and to be short and to the point, best act prep might be the channel for you!

what people say about the best act prep youtube channel:

9. bws education consulting

bws education consulting is a company founded by the person who wrote act and other test prep content for barron’s. they offer a free full-length 2022世界杯入门名单 along with other resources to help test-takers in their prep experience. based on what we know about barron’s act content, this test should generally be a good approximation of the act, if not slightly easier.

what people say about bws education consulting:

10. mcgraw-hill act center

the mcgraw-hill act center is an online portal similar to act academy that contains video lessons, quizzes, and four full-length practice tests. the one thing to know about mcgraw hill is that their act-like content varies widely. while their science section is pretty close to the real thing, the questions on their other sections range from being too easy to too difficult (you can read more about our take on mcgraw-hill resources in our review of the best act prep books).

while the mcgraw-hill act center is a great resource for free act prep, we recommend using practice tests from places like mcgraw hill and bws education consulting after you’ve exhausted other options.

11. khan academy

you might be thinking, isn’t khan academy for the sat? well, true, they’ve partnered with the college board for sat prep, so using khan academy for act prep might not seem intuitive. but its math review lessons can be really helpful if it has been a while since you have studied a particular topic in school or if you never really understood it when you learned it in your math class.

you can use this list of act math topics to figure out what topics are tested on the act, and then search khan academy for lessons on the ones you need to brush up on. a lot of our students also report that khan is a good place to start out and then take a deeper dive with magoosh act prep.

what people say about khan academy:

12. almost fun

like khan academy, almost fun doesn’t have resources for act prep (yet!), but both their general math lessons and sat lessons and practice questions (of which there are around 400) are completely free and can benefit students looking to improve upon foundational skills needed for the act, such as reading closely, sentence structure, and linear inequalities.

their mission is to provide culturally-relevant test prep and their questions and lessons are replete with pop culture references (any black panther fans?), humor, and casual language. so if you find that even khan academy is too dry for you, you should definitely check out almost fun on either their website or download their ios app. (remember to refer to our list of act math topics to be sure that you’re studying concepts tested on the act).

what people say about almost fun:

13. online timed reading practice

arguably the most important skill you can develop for the act reading section is skimming passages, since it’s recommended that you don’t spend more than 3 minutes reading and marking passages.

for that reason, we dug up the following online resources to bring your skimming skills up to speed (pun absolutely intended):

• university of southern maine
• pearson

14. grammarbytes

just as khan academy is a great resource for math review, grammarbytes is a great resource for grammar review for the act english test. it offers several resources, like videos, practice questions, and daily twitter tips, to help you review the topics you might be rusty on and does so in a pretty fun and interactive way. for a list of topics covered on the act english test, check out our act english study guide.

what people say about grammarbytes:

15. english grammar

this site may be less entertaining than grammarbytes, but if you are just looking for the cut and dry facts, english grammar has you covered. english grammar also offers an extensive collection of online exercises and tools, which will surely help your grammar skills be in top shape for the act!

what people say about english grammar:

paid websites and apps

above i mentioned the free versions of the pocket prep and magoosh act prep apps. but both these apps also have paid versions in case you want more of the courses offered!

magoosh act prep premium

the premium version of the magoosh act prep app is—not to brag—one of the best online act prep courses out there. the course includes over 250 video tutorials, 1,500 questions, the added bonus of full-length practice exams, and live online tutoring support. it also has an up to 4-point increase score guarantee. since you can upgrade anytime, go ahead and try out the free version of the app and upgrade if you find that you would like additional support.

see why crushthegre ranked us as the #1 best act prep course! plus, our students have great things to say about magoosh—check it ou!

what people say about the premium magoosh act test prep app:

pocket prep premium

the premium version, which costs $4.99, has about 500 practice questions, a question of the day feature, study reminders, in-app support, and the ability to create your own tests, which could help you if you don’t have much time to take a full practice test but would like to emulate real test-like settings as much as possible.

what people say about the premium pocket prep app:

prep4 act premium

developed out of mit, the prep4 act premium app costs $20 but users say that the fee is well worth the money. act students who have used this app particularly praise its intuitive lessons, practice questions, and ability to track strengths and weaknesses and accurately predict one’s act score. you can also try out the first four lessons and some practice questions in order to decide if the paid version is for you.

what people say about prep4 act premium:

final words

well, there you have it—some of the best online act test prep money can buy (and in most cases, there’s not even money involved)! why spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on in-person test prep courses or private tutoring when some of the best act prep courses offered are online?

of course, depending on your learning style and timeline, you might be better off with an in-person act course or tutoring. but if you have a fairly long timeline to prep, you might as well go through this list and see what works for you. and if you’re planning on taking both the act and sat, many of these sites and apps provide similar sat support as well. just make sure you actually put in the time to take advantage of these act prep resources and you’ll see an increase in your act scores in no time!

 
editor’s note: kristin fracchia contributed significantly to this post.

the post the 15 best online resources for free act prep appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

are you trying to figure out how to improve your act score by 10 points? good news—it’s definitely in your future if you’re willing to work for it! and honestly, it doesn’t take as much effort as you might think it does. as long as you are consistent and focused and you study strategically, you will see major improvements in your act score.

whether you’re in the middle of your act prep right now or have already taken the test, this post will provide you with the tips and concrete tools that will help you stay focused, be strategic, and reach that score goal!

check out our table of contents for a preview of each tip and click the links to learn more!

table of contents

• what to do before resuming your prep
  • identify what’s keeping you from improving your act score by 10 points
  • create a study plan
  • establish what motivates you before you begin prep
  • make sure you use quality test prep
• what to do during your prep
  • understand every question you come across
  • master act pacing
  • maximize your study time
  • stay calm and balanced

how to improve your act score: what to do before resuming your prep

planning might be boring for most students, but in order to improve your act score by a significant margin like 10 points, you need to have the right plan. while you definitely shouldn’t spend too long on planning, following the tips below will help you create the right foundation to get the most out of your act prep.

identify what’s keeping you from improving your act score by 10 points

the first thing to understand is that the path to a 10-point increase on the act does not look the same for everybody. in terms of the time and energy required, going from a 19 to 29 is not the same as going from a 26 to 36.

a general rule of thumb is test-takers scoring at a 26 or above have a pretty good grasp of the content; the focus here would be improving pacing, maybe getting more comfortable with some question types, and avoiding careless errors. test-takers scoring below that threshold likely need to focus on mastering content and then pacing.

if you’re scoring below 26, improving your act score by a significant margin might require a somewhat heavier lift than for someone with a higher initial score.

that being said, high scorers shouldn’t celebrate just yet. it can be easy to plateau and stay at the same score no matter how much practice you put in. because of the way act scoring works, students who mainly need to focus on content mastery will typically see quicker gains in points than those who are generally familiar with the content.

getting into the nitty gritty

now that you have a broad sense of how to improve your act score, it’s critical to get a detailed understanding of both your weaknesses and your strengths. it would be helpful to know the makeup of the act inside and out, if you aren’t too familiar already, starting with the sections you need to improve the most on. consider answering the following questions:

• what are the topics covered in each section and what are the question types?
  • which topics and/or question types are a piece of cake for me in each section?
  • which topics and/or question types am i struggling with in each section?
• am i making one or more of these common act mistakes in any of these sections?

for students who have already taken the act

if you already took the act, your act score report provides you with an easy way to see the breakdown of each subject area and understand how to improve your act score. if you just took the act, you should drop everything you’re doing and see if you’re eligible to take advantage of the act’s test information release, which gives you the entire test, your answers, and the answer key. reviewing how you did on each question will provide you with a goldmine of information about how you do on test day. (we cover best practices for reviewing act questions in this section below).

create a study plan

you might be wondering how many hours it takes to improve your act score by 10 points. although it’s possible to improve your act score in a week, achieving a 10-point increase requires a much longer timeline.

you should give yourself a minimum of 6 weeks to prep before you take/retake the act. if you don’t have that much time, try to spend at least 30 hours between now and test day in order to see significant improvements to your act score.

our collection of act study schedules can help you craft a study plan that best fits your needs. if you’re really strapped for time, you can check out our quick act prep schedule, which will help you maximize study efforts in just 20 minutes a day. but if you truly want to see a big increase in your act score, it is highly encouraged that you model your act plan after one of our longer study schedules.

prioritize your study content

once you have determined how long you have to prep, figure out which sections and specific topic areas will be your priorities. a lot of factors could go into determining this.

say, for example, that you’re scoring a 32 on math and a 25 on reading. for most students, it would make sense to prioritize improving their reading score over their math score. if, however, you’re applying to a math-intensive program and your reading score is close to the average scores of admitted students, it might make sense to prioritize getting a perfect score on math before improving your reading.

do some research on your top choices to help you figure out target score ranges for each section and use that to structure the content of your act study sessions.

consider act section retesting

in fact, if you have already achieved your target score on certain sections, the act has some great news for you! starting in september 2020, students will have the opportunity to retake particular sections rather than the entire test. this policy change is huge for reducing stress, saving study time, and maximizing the impact of your prep.

but make sure that taking advantage of this policy would be in your best interest (this is where school research comes handy). most programs like to see consistent scores across subjects; if you have some scores that are noticeably higher than others, admissions officers could mark that as a weakness.

if you don’t take advantage of this new policy, it’s important to not completely neglect the sections that you are stronger on as you determine how to divide your study time. by focusing only on weaker sections, there is a high chance that you will improve on these sections while scoring lower on your stronger sections.

create measurable goals for each section you’ll retake

the best way to prioritize your study time is to create measurable goals for each section you’ll retake. use your composite score goal to figure out how many additional points you need in each section.

then, translate that to the skills and topics you need to master to reach each subscore goal. use your analysis of your strengths and weaknesses to identify the most-tested topic(s) or test-taking skills that you still need to master in each section. the following guides will help you create these specific goals:

• how to improve your act english score
• how to improve your act reading score
• how to improve your act math score
• how to improve your act science score

and as a bonus, if you’re also looking to improve your writing skills for the optional writing section:

• how to improve your act writing score

below is an example of goals written by a hypothetical student retaking all sections (notice the specificity):

and once you achieve your initial goals, create new ones (then rinse and repeat)! work your way up to mastering the least common (and often most difficult) content on the act, and you’ll see that hard work pay off in the form of increases in your act score.

establish what motivates you before you begin prep

so imagine this scenario: you’ve identified all your strengths and weaknesses. you’ve analyzed the act and come up with a detailed plan to improve your act score. you sit down to start your prep and then…you realize that spending two hours on tiktok sounds much more appealing, so you do that instead.

sounds plausible, right? procrastination is natural and a very real threat to improving your act score. that’s why it’s critical to realize early on that all your act planning and preparation would be for nothing if you are not guided by a deep understanding of what motivates you to actually study.

maybe internal motivation is what drives you and creating a study space with pictures of your dream school, for example, or reminders of your future ambitions would be enough to keep you focused. or perhaps you need external motivators; in that case, you should consider asking your family for perks (i can attest that this worked for me!), getting a tutor, or finding a study buddy.

you know yourself the best, so whatever motivates you—and you can find more examples in our collection of perfect act score stories—needs to be built into your act prep from the get-go.

seriously, though, find a study buddy!

whether or not you need external motivation, there are several reasons why you should consider prepping with a buddy or a group, at least for a portion of your study plan. here are four of them:
 

1. social studying reduces stress, makes you feel less alone, and makes studying fun; you’ll even find yourself studying in longer chunks!
2. it’s easier to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and stay accountable to goals when you’re checking in with others.
3. you can pool together resources, like test prep books and notes from math class. since the act is a high school content-based test, someone may find something in their class notes that applies to the act.
4. you’ll be able to teach what you’ve learned to someone else, which is one of the best ways to solidify a concept in your mind.

 
if you’re concerned about friends being too distracting, don’t be afraid to be selective about whom to study with. think about people who are serious about the act and who have complementary skills to you, meaning that you all would gain something by learning from each other. and if you’re still skeptical about the benefits of group study, there’s nothing to lose by just trying it out!

make sure you use quality test prep

you can spend hundreds of hours on act prep, but if the materials are of poor quality, all that effort will be wasted. take a moment to evaluate whether it is worthwhile to continue using the prep that you have used or are currently using. if you have experience with tutoring or a prep course, did you find it effective? does your prep book have good reviews across the board? if you have been using free online materials, did you verify that they’re the best free prep out there?

in addition to ensuring that you have access to high-quality act prep, you want to make sure that the materials are well-suited for both your learning style and your wallet. if you think tutoring or act prep courses are too pricey but you’ll benefit from interactive lessons and one-on-one support, you should check out magoosh act prep, which is a fraction of the cost of traditional test prep options. another added benefit of magoosh is that it automatically tracks your strengths and weaknesses and helps you prioritize your studying so that you don’t have to. (and if magoosh act prep is still too expensive, you should see if your school or community center is able to get it for you.)

regardless of the type of prep you choose, make sure that you don’t spread yourself too thin across too many options; finish the practice content provided by your primary resource before moving on to others. but do make sure that your prep includes some quality full-length practice acts taken under test-like conditions.

how to improve your act score: what to do during your prep

once you plan your act prep and gather quality test prep materials, here are four tips and tools to help you reach your 10-point goal.

understand every question you come across

this is probably the most important thing you can do to improve your act score. seriously, if there is only one thing you take away from this post, it should be this: every time you complete an act question, whether on a practice test, a quiz, or after a lesson, you need to make sure you understand it 100%.

the way to beat standardized tests like the act is to become very familiar with how they ask questions. there’s no way to do this other than absorbing as many questions as possible.

if you’re taking practice tests, first make sure to answer every question before checking your answers. don’t worry about time limits—just focus on getting the right answer.

then, review all questions: the ones you got wrong and the ones you got right. sometimes, you may get the right answer on a fluke, so it’s always good to double back and make sure you understand what the question was asking and how to get to the right answer. but if you need to prioritize while reviewing, focus on the questions you got wrong.

now, do the following for each question you didn’t understand and you answered incorrectly:

master act pacing

act pacing is about making the most out of the full amount of time you have to complete the act.

if you find that you have extra time left over at the end of each section, slow down. double-check answers for questions you were a little unsure about. although the act is timed, it is not a race.

alternately, if you find that you have no time left at the end of a particular section and there are still questions left unanswered, you should take timed practice sections until you’re familiar with the pacing. to answer every single question, you have:

• 36 seconds per question on the english section (75 questions total in 45 minutes)
• 1 minute per question on the math section (60 questions total in 60 minutes)
• 52 seconds per question on the reading and science sections (40 questions in section in 35 minutes)
• 40 minutes for the essay (if you’re taking the act writing test)

as you can see, there is no time to waste. if you find yourself struggling with a question, make a guess, mark the question, and move on. you can come back to it later if you have time, but you don’t want to leave anything blank as the act doesn’t penalize you for wrong answers. you’ll want to become best friends with the timer, which will not only keep you within the time limit but will also help you schedule much-needed breaks.

for more tips on how to maximize your time on the act, make sure to check out our complete guide to act pacing and time management and refer back to the guides linked in this section. these resources are full of time-saving strategies for each section, such as improving your mental math or using the answer choices to backsolve for the act math section, act science tips like “predict before you peek,” and general tips on how to actively yet efficiently read passages.

maximize your study time

i said it once and i’ll say it again: you can’t expect to raise your act score by 10 points in one week. cramming, or last-minute studying, is not a substitute for dedicated, long term studying. your brain needs time and practice to form new connections and gain new knowledge. there are no quick hacks for getting smarter!

if you’re already strapped for time, the onus is on you to be as smart as possible about how you use your act prep time. consider every minute as precious. if you find yourself procrastinating, remember your motivations! here are some tips to help you maximize your study time:
 

• whenever you’re able to, start studying two hours after waking up. this is when you are most alert and ready to learn. so, if you wake up at 8am, make sure you get to a place you can study by 10am.
• speaking of your study place, go somewhere quiet where you aren’t distracted. it usually helps to leave the house so that you aren’t tempted by the kitchen, interrupted by a sibling making noise, etc. if you can’t leave the house, sit at a table—not on a couch or on your bed. if you’re studying in your room, make sure it’s clean (a lot of test-takers get distracted by the mess)!
• make sure to put your phone on “do not disturb” mode and close out your apps, with the exception of the ones you’re using to study.
• try to fit act prep into the nooks and crannies of your schedule. commuting to the library or to school can be a good opportunity to prepare on the go with act prep apps. remember, every minute counts!

stay calm and balanced

remember: the act is just one aspect of your college application, and you likely have other things to focus on alongside your act prep, like your gpa and extracurriculars. while we recommend sticking to the above tips as much as possible, don’t stress if you’re not able to follow these tips to their fullest extent.

do not, under any circumstances, neglect your mental and physical health. healthy eating, exercising, and managing stress aren’t just good life choices—they’re scientifically proven to help improve test scores! getting a good night’s sleep is particularly important. sleep is when your brain replays the patterns that it has learned during the day. it is crucial that you don’t skimp on sleep if you want to remember what you have learned.

for more information on how mental and physical health can help you improve your act score, click the image below to check out our exam lifehacks infographic!

what to do if you have test anxiety

does the thought of taking the act just make you feel so nervous that it’s difficult for you to concentrate? if so, you’re definitely not alone. here are some tips to ensure that you’re in control of the act rather than letting the act control you!

do not focus on the score. this might sound counter to the whole point of the post, but if test anxiety is really threatening your success on the act, just forget about your score goals entirely. for example, instead of saying:

increase act science score by at least 4 points by improving on conflicting viewpoints and data representation questions.

…you can reframe the goal simply as:

improve on conflicting viewpoints and data representation questions on act science.

if you just push yourself to master as much act content and skills as possible, you’ll see significant gains in your test score without even realizing it!

take deep breaths. whenever you start to feel anxious, take a few deep breaths and remember that the act is testing you on things you already know. you’ll instantly feel calmer! we cover deep breathing in more detail in the above infographic.

health comes first. i said this already but another reminder doesn’t hurt. if you don’t have the best sleep habits, at the very least prioritize sleep for a few days leading up to the exam and not just the night before the exam. otherwise, your sleep deficit will definitely hurt you on the day of the test.

be organized for test day. test day is nerve-wracking as it is; you don’t need to make it worse with the nagging sensation that you might be forgetting something. check out our article on act tips for test day so that you know what to expect and bookmark it so that you have it handy closer to the real act test.

start following the tips in this article today! the single most effective way to beat test anxiety is preparation. if you know what will be tested, you probably won’t be as nervous. use these tips to learn everything you can about the act and what will be on it as well as create and implement a personalized plan to kick some act butt!

takeaways

so there you have it, our top tips for how to improve your act score by 10 points! the preparation will not be easy, but it is definitely achievable if you follow these tips.

ultimately, all of these tips boil down to three principles: get in the right mindset, study smart, and take care of yourself. as long as you focus and follow all three of these principles to the best of your ability, you’ll not only see your act score go up, but you’ll also be a lot happier throughout this process than if you didn’t.

best of luck and remember that magoosh is here for you! if you have any questions at all during your prep, just comment below!

the post how to improve your act score by 10 points appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

it’s tough being a student during the time of coronavirus. on top of worrying about loved ones and the state of the world in general and really missing social interactions, like everyone else, you also have the added student stress of worrying about your education and your future. to help you cope and make the most of this crisis, here are magoosh’s 15 tips to stay sane as we practice social distancing and staying at home.

1. practice gratitude and positive thinking

one of the things this crisis has revealed is just how good many of us have it. especially if you have a roof over your head, a loving family to weather this crisis with, and food on the table, practicing gratitude is not only a good way to see the silver lining, but it’s also a great way to increase your happiness. check out some more tips on gratitude and positive thinking here.

2. intentionally take care of your mind and body

don’t let laziness get in the way here! even dedicating half an hour a day to taking care of your mind and body can work wonders for your sense of calm and happiness. if you take away anything from this article, let it be the importance of the following three practices:

exercise

being in quarantine doesn’t mean that we can never leave our house! even states with the strictest stay-at-home orders deem physical outdoor activities as essential—and for very good reason. do some yoga in your backyard or go for a bike ride around your neighborhood while maintaining considerable distance from other people (more than six feet, if possible). if there are a lot of folks out and about, you can work out at home—lots of gyms and fitness studios are offering streaming services completely free of charge.

practice good sleep hygiene

while it may be tempting to stay up all night one night and watch netflix, it’s super important to maintain good sleep habits. while lack of sleep may no longer be an issue for many students, it’s critical to maintain a consistent sleep schedule (even on the weekends) and avoid things that mess with your system right before going to sleep, like huge meals and extensive screen time. working out earlier in the day also helps with falling asleep faster!

meditate

if meditation isn’t already part of your daily routine, it definitely should be! even meditating as little as 5 minutes a day every day has huge health benefits, from reducing stress to boosting your immune system. look into apps such as insight timer, which has the largest free collection of guided meditations, or headspace. to boost your relaxation even more, consider pairing medication with fun self-care activities like taking bubble baths!
 

3. eat foods that make you happy

while many students stress eat, that’s not what i’m referring to—i’m talking about foods that are scientifically proven to make you happy (although many of them are indeed enjoyable to eat). here are some examples:

bananas: as you probably know, bananas are full of potassium, but did you know that potassium is proven to help reduce stress and depression? this is great news for everyone who has been baking a lot of banana bread these days!

dark chocolate: eating small amounts of dark chocolate actually regulates your body’s cortisol, a hormone that controls stress.

mango: the tropical fruit contains linalool, a chemical that university of tokyo scientists claim brings down stress levels.

green tea: green tea is chock full of l-theanine, which is said to reduce anger and stress. plus, sipping a nice, warm beverage is already sort of comforting and soothing. consider adding honey, which has chemicals like quercetin and kaempferol that have relaxing properties.

gum: okay, so this technically isn’t food, but it is something you chew on, so we’ll count it anyway. according to an nih study, chewing gum actually alleviates negativity and reduces cortisol when under stress. so grab your nearest pack of (sugar-free) gum and chew that thing like it’s nobody’s business!

for more happiness foods, check out this post.

4. create a routine

keeping a routine, which will help you create a sense of normalcy amid all this chaos, can do wonders for your mental health. go to sleep and get up at the same time (as mentioned before), dedicate a certain amount of time for your studies (even if your school is still trying to figure out a fixed schedule), continue doing your act or sat prep if it makes sense, and set aside a block for exercise and doing things you enjoy.

5. but also mix things up to the extent possible

forget about being confined in your house; it’s easy to go stir-crazy if all you’re seeing day after day are the same neighborhood streets. in addition to being the spice of life, variety is also good for your mental health. while having a general routine is important, you also want to switch things up within that routine as much as possible:

• try to do an activity in every location of your home.
• go to the park one weekend, a new hiking trail the next (since physical outdoor activities are considered essential activities, most states allow such travel).
• use this list as a jumping point to create a goal to do something different every day, no matter how small that goal is.
• if you need social interaction beyond your family, call a different friend every day and/or invite a friend to do an essential outdoor activity while strictly observing social distancing.

6. clean

the next time your mom asks you to help her with spring cleaning, resist the urge to roll your eyes—look at it as an invitation to practice self-care! cleaning and organizing not only allow you to feel in control of your environment (something we all need a sense of these days!), but they are also soothing activities that help you relax.

7. laugh

laughter really is the best medicine. or, at least, it’s excellent at de-stressing! scientific studies have proven that laughing eases stress and lowers blood pressure. just look at all the coronavirus-related memes everyone has been sharing or how tiktok has gotten even more weird and hilarious; it comes to no wonder why so many people have been using jokes as a coping mechanism. if you need to step away from these memes, watch some funny videos on youtube or remember a funny memory, and you’ll be guaranteed to feel a lot less stressed.

8. keep a journal

writing out your thoughts is a great way to organize and process your emotions and reflect on everything that’s going on. it’s also a really great way to document this historical time that we’re living in and it could be something that you’ll pat yourself on the back for doing in the future. consider journaling the first thing you do when you wake up and/or one the last things you do before you go to sleep.

9. engage in creative pursuits

it is never too late or the wrong time to bring more creativity in your life, and it is particularly true in these times. dust off that ukulele that’s been sitting in your basement for years. bust out that watercolor set that you’ve been meaning to use for ages (you may find yourself unearthing these things during your cleaning sessions! see what i did there ).
 

you’d be surprised at what kind of artistic or craftsy items are in your house, available online, or still in stock at essential businesses in your community. and if you’re hard-pressed to find anything beyond paper and pens, there’s a lot you could do with that, too.

10. show your affection

show love to the people you are homebound with! although it should be a no-brainer that feeling loved would make people happier, there is real science behind it: hugging reduces blood pressure and stress levels, and kissing fights stress-related hormones. if you live with essential workers, finding non-physical ways to express your affection and deep gratitude for their service does the trick, too.

11. listen to music

music definitely has a strong psychological impact on its listeners, and the right type of music can help you focus more, uplift your spirits, and even relieve your stress. consider listening to ambient music or low and quiet classical music as you do other activities. for more contemporary options, you won’t regret going through the entire catalog of npr’s tiny desk concert series.

12. have meaningful conversations

talk about your stress with someone. really, it helps. find an understanding friend or family member to talk about your problems with (preferably someone who won’t make you more stressed!). if you feel like there’s no one who understands, there are tons of counseling hotlines like this one which will help you for free.

13. minimize screen time

excessive screen time is already inadvisable during normal times; now that we’re in a situation where we’re tempted to use our electronics more while everything around us feels downright apocalyptic, it probably doesn’t take much screen time to drive yourself crazy these days. (also zoom fatigue is a very real thing.)

reduce your news and social media intake—set time limits if you need to. if you need social time, sprinkle in some old-fashioned phone calls with your facetiming so that you’re not staring at the screen. even when you have to use tech, switching it up between your phone and your laptop could help too.

14. give back

according to research, volunteering and giving back actually increases happiness. there are a lot of different ways to give back during this crisis, such as donating to mutual-aid networks, giving blood, or supporting your favorite local restaurant by giving to relief funds. check out this post and our post on how students are responding to the crisis for more ideas!

15. go easy on yourself

it’s super important to note that however you’ve been processing this crisis is perfectly fine. we’re living in troubling times and it’s really hard to manage. many of the tips in this post might be hard to work into your routine as a result. that’s totally okay.

try not to beat yourself up if you’re not being as productive as you want to be or if you’re not “making the most” out of your time in quarantine.

just focus on being in tune with yourself and your needs, which is also just good advice in non-crisis times. so in a few months from now, when you’re adding back extracurriculars and the five billion things you have in your typical schedules, don’t forget about these self-care tips to help you manage student stress!

the post 15 tips for students to reduce stress during covid-19 appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

your act score report is arguably just as important as the act test itself. if you recently took the act, you’re probably wondering about your act score report dates and what to expect on your report. you might also be wondering about the option of sending free score reports. in this post, we not only answer these questions, but we also provide some insights on how to make the most of your score report.

what is included in my act score report?

there are three types of score reports: the student report, the high school report, and the college report.

the student report

the student report is packed with a lot of useful information, which can help you prepare for a retake and also learn some career insights that could help you with your college prep.

this information includes:

• a breakdown of your different types of scores:
  • composite score
  • section scores
  • english language arts (ela) score
  • science technology engineering math (stem) score
• how your score compares to benchmarks and other test-takers (your percentile)
• detailed information on how you did on each section
• schools or scholarship programs you sent a free report to
• suggestions for career pathways and college readiness based on your scores
• predictions on how you’d do on a retake

this image is a representation of a portion of the first page of your score report.

 
the official act website actually has an interactive pdf where you can check out the above information in detail in a sample score report.

the high school and college reports

the high school and college reports also have the above information and then some. the high school report, which is what your school receives, also includes an image of your essay if you chose to take the writing test.

the college report, which is sent to each university or scholarship agency that you apply to, is like the high school report plus the grades you reported on up to 30 courses that you took in high school and predictions of your performance in specific college programs and courses.

when and how do i receive my act score report?

act score report dates

you will receive your act score report online about 2-8 weeks after most tests. for the october test, the earliest you should expect to receive your scores is three weeks after taking the test; that’s when the test-maker does a process to ensure that the act, a standardized test, is truly measuring the same thing across different tests.

this long range of act score report dates exists in case something weird happens, but two weeks is a pretty safe bet; it’s rare to see your act results taking longer than a month. that is, of course, if you didn’t take the optional writing test—in that case, the earliest you would get your overall scores is a month after test day. this is because writing scores are available about two weeks after your multiple-choice scores.

how to access your score report

to access your report, you log into your act account (the same account you used to register). you won’t get a notification when the scores are available, so just start checking your account around the two-week mark (or four weeks if you took the essay)—or you could just wait for others to start posting about it on their social media!

there’s no set act score report date for each test-taker, so if you don’t see yours, just keep checking. they tend to release scores in batches. for special testing administrations, such as testing that was sponsored by your state or district, those scores will be mailed to you, which you can access online by creating an account and inputting your act id found on your mailed student score report.

how do i send my act score report to colleges?

there are two ways you can send your act score report to colleges or organizations. you can opt to send your act scores to up to four colleges or scholarship programs for free when you register for the act or up to five days after taking the test. (unfortunately, the act does not make any allowances for free score reports after your test date, unlike the sat, which allows students with fee waivers to qualify for some free score reports after the test.) otherwise, you can pay $13 per school or program for any reports beyond the “free four” or for reports sent after your scores come out.

it’s important to note that if you take the act more than once, there is a separate reporting system for each test. in other words, if you take the test again and decide to send your free report to certain programs, those programs won’t see your old act scores. so if you want to take advantage of superscoring, you’d have to pay for multiple sets of reports. on the flip side, that does mean that each act registration gives you four free reports to work with.

should i send my free act score reports to colleges?

it could be tempting to consider sending your four free reports to colleges, but for most students, it might make sense not to take advantage of this option. for others, sending free reports makes sense for economic and strategic reasons.

when you shouldn’t send your free reports

if you’re not 100% confident in your act performance and you can afford to send multiple score reports, it would be advisable to wait until you get your scores before sending your reports to college. here’s why:

your registered programs will receive your score report at the same time you do, so if you bomb your act, these programs will automatically receive those bad scores. and once they’ve seen your act scores, they don’t unsee them, even if you score significantly higher at a later date. now, this might not be the worst thing—colleges usually like to see improvement and end up considering your highest act scores anyway. but if schools know that you performed terribly on the act at one point, particularly selective schools, it could raise a red flag.

furthermore, if you opt to send your free report with all this in mind and change your mind later, there’s no processing for canceling your request. sending your scores after you know what they look like offer you more control of the situation and allow you to consider your admissions strategy more carefully.

if you’ve already taken advantage of free act score reports and are worried about how you did, don’t panic. sending free score reports will not irrevocably hurt your chances at admissions. but if you haven’t taken advantage of the free score reports, know that it is nice to be able to sweep a potentially bad score under the rug.

when you should send your free reports

the reasons why sending free reports make sense include (but may not be limited to):

• you’re sure you won’t do an act retake.
• you’ve done well on practice tests and you’re confident that you will do or did well on test day.
• the schools you are applying to require all of your act test scores (although even in this situation, it might still be best to wait. although it’s very rare, there could be a mistake with your scores that you want to sort out first, so it’s best for you to know what the situation is before admissions offices).
• the free reports will reduce the cost burden on you and your family.

the takeaway

again, taking advantage of free score reports will not doom your college admissions chances. this goes especially for high school students who need to rely on the free reports or students who are worried about already having sent free score reports.

if something happens and you don’t feel that these scores represent you well (maybe you accidentally bubbled answers in wrong and didn’t realize until you got your scores), you can always write a short explanation on your applications about this. but if you have the means to spend money on your score reports, it’s advisable that you wait until you’re sure you have a good act score before sending out score reports.

summary

basically, the main thing to know about act score reports boils down to three points:

1. use your report wisely: the score report doesn’t just tell you how you did on the act; you can use the score report to begin preparing for a retake and get a better understanding of your college and career pathways.
2. act score report dates: start checking your act.org account about two to four weeks after test day, depending on whether or not you took the essay (or keep an eye on the mail if you took the act under a special administration).
3. hold off on sending free reports: if you can avoid sending your free act score reports, do it, but it’s definitely not the end of the world at all if you can’t.

we hope you find what you were looking for as it relates to act scores reports! if there was something we didn’t cover, make sure you let us know in the comments. best of luck as you continue on your act journey!

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in addition to causing a massive, worldwide public health crisis, covid-19 has uniquely impacted high school students. with the move to remote learning and the uncertainty around college admissions, it’s hard to find a time when student stress levels have been higher. what’s more, students from marginalized backgrounds are being disproportionately impacted by this crisis. here’s a look at some of these problems and how students all across the country have been demanding solutions.

overcoming technological and language barriers

one of the biggest issues facing students across the country is the lack of access to technology to continue schooling. immigrant families in particular also lack access to important information in their native language. members of the san diego-based organization youth will created a covid-19 action team and have been hosting virtual hangouts for youth in the area to discuss these issues as well as others related to the crisis.

through these hangouts, youth have determined the following demands to advocate for at the county, city, and school board levels:

• provide technological devices, such as laptops and wifi hotspots, to all students who need it
• provide translation services to families that don’t speak english as their first language
• improve their outreach by having a proactive, direct, and consistent line to students and families and actively engaging with their concerns as the crisis evolves
• expand access to mental health resources, including counselors and mentors

the covid-19 action team has also created the following list of resources, which include opportunities to get free technology, essential job openings, and other resources.

demanding pass/fail grading

given the reality that students do not have equal access to online learning, several students across the country have been pushing their school districts to move to a pass/fail grading system. milly from rhode island led her group, providence student union, to circulate a petition demanding that the rhode island department of education allow all high schools in the state the option to move to pass/fail. zoe, a prominent student activist in her maryland county, created a similar petition targetted at her school district.

fighting for test-optional

student voice, a national organization that is entirely student-led, has launched the #testoptionalnow movement to pressure colleges and universities to drop the standardized test requirement. they argue that sat/act cancellations and delays and the resulting logistical challenges will primarily impact low-income, minority, and other underrepresented students.

emanuelle, a high school junior from kentucky, has partnered with student voice to lead the test-optional movement in her state. her local group, the prichard committee student voice team, recently met with the president of the kentucky council on postsecondary education, which has dropped standardized testing as a minimum requirement for college admissions. their goal currently is to get a better grasp of the data and the arguments for going test-optional.

creating alternatives to college tours

with the cancellations of college tours and admitted student events, many high school seniors are struggling to make an informed decision about their college acceptance, particularly first-generation college students. the maryland-based student-led organization moco for change has created a service connecting current high school seniors with alums from the county who may have gone to their schools of interest. so far, the group has mobilized over 750 county alumni representing 179 different colleges and universities!

what you can do

we hope this post inspires and provides you hope during this uncertain time! if your community is experiencing similar issues, you can use these examples of student activism to create similar petitions and resources. here are some other tips to get started:

• mobilize a group of friends who are equally as concerned about these issues as you are.
• research the issue by surveying community members and looking up statistics.
• engage trusted adults in your community to help you draft communications and create a strategy.
• if you’re new to these kinds of actions, don’t let that stop you! you have real power to create positive change in your community and the only way to exercise that power is to get started!

are you doing anything else to help your community and your peers during this crisis? let us know in the comments below!

the post how students are responding to covid-19 appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

for a top-notch act english score, you need to know your grammar rules inside and out. more than half of the questions in the act english section test your understanding of english grammar, known on the act as “conventions of standard english” questions.

although this post won’t go through all the english rules to know for the act, we will discuss the most commonly tested rules to help you kickstart your act grammar practice. master the following 19 grammar rules, and you’ll not only be better prepared to take on the act english questions, but you’ll also have a leg up on the act essay (the optional writing test). make sure to use our comprehension checks and act grammar practice questions to test your understanding along the way!

table of contents

• sentence structure
• run-on sentences
• verbs
• pronouns
• conjunctions
• parallelism
• modifiers
• appositives
• more act grammar practice

sentence structure

the basic objective of grammar is to create sentences! knowing how sentences are structured and how to identify improperly structured sentences should be the first thing you focus on in your act grammar practice.

act grammar rule #1: a complete sentence needs a subject and a predicate.

in the sentence “susie loves fancy snacks,” susie is the subject (who or what the sentence is about) and loves fancy snacks is the predicate (a phrase that has a verb and a complete thought).

if a sentence doesn’t have these two components, it is called a fragment. here are a few examples of fragments:

• jumped over the fence
• i am
• without a dream to hold on to
• such as chocolate-dipped strawberries

comprehension check:

why are the above fragments not considered complete sentences?

how to fix a fragment

knowing how to fix fragments is key for act english grammar questions. most times, fragments can be fixed by…

• adding the subject: the dog jumped over the fence.
• adding the predicate: i am like a drifter.

or combining it with another sentence:

• i am like a drifter without a dream to hold on to.
• susie loves fancy snacks, such as chocolate-dipped strawberries.

 
act grammar pro tip:

one of our biggest act grammar tips is to watch out for fragments that seem to be connected to the previous sentence, but can’t stand alone grammatically. for example:

she was a wonderful professor. the most wonderful professor.

the second sentence does not have a subject or a complete predicate. an acceptable edit of the sentence would be:

she was a wonderful professor. in fact, she was the most wonderful professor.

fixing tricky fragments

many fragment questions on the act refer to what look like complete sentences but are actually just two or more fragments connected to each other. in these cases, adding or combining sentence elements might not be enough; you might need to change an element altogether.

finishing his lab experiment before the rest of the class, then deciding to leave early.

why is this an incomplete sentence? because it lacks a subject and a proper verb. to fix it, you would need to add a subject and change the verb form:

finishing his lab experiment before the rest of the class, jack decided to leave early.
 

act grammar pro tip:

the use of gerunds and the pronoun “he” in the above sentence tricks you into thinking that there is a subject and a verb. a gerund looks like a verb, but it’s actually a derivative of a verb that functions as a noun, sometimes called a helping verb (such as, “she is running.”). rest assured, you do not need to memorize the definition of “gerund” for the act! however, do make sure you can differentiate between verbs and nouns that appear in passages on the exam. the act will try to trick you with gerunds, so watch out!

act grammar practice: sentence fragments

run-on sentences

in order to understand run-on sentences, it’s important to understand the difference between independent clauses and dependent clauses. an independent clause is a phrase that can stand alone as a sentence. a dependent clause is a phrase that contains a verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence.

comprehension check:

what are the independent and dependent clauses in the following?

i enjoyed my night alone despite initially wanting to see a movie with friends.

act grammar rule #2: a comma splice improperly combines one or more independent clauses.

a run-on sentence is when a sentence has too many independent clauses that aren’t combined properly. students frequently make the mistake of attempting to combine run-on sentences with a comma, and this results in a grammatical error known as the comma splice.

the following is an example of a comma splice:

i run five miles along the river on saturdays, i do this even when it’s raining.

knowing how to identify a comma splice and fix it is critical for your act grammar prep. you can fix a comma splice by:

1. turning the clauses into two separate sentences → i run five miles along the river on saturdays. i do this even when it’s raining.
2. using a coordinating conjunction → i run five miles along the river on saturdays, and i do this even when it’s raining.
3. using a semi-colon → i run five miles along the river on saturdays; i do this even when it’s raining.
4. making one clause dependent: → i run five miles along the river on saturdays, even when it’s raining.

for more on comma rules and more, be sure to check out this video!

act grammar practice: comma splices

verbs

your act grammar review needs to include verb tenses and subject-verb agreement. here are some of the most important rules that will help you with act verb questions that you may come across:

act grammar rule #3: check for subject verb agreement for present tense and “to be” verbs

knowing subject-verb agreement rules, which refers to whether or not the subject matches the corresponding verb, are some of the most useful grammar rules to know for the act. in grammar, there are five types of subjects:

• first-person singular (i)
• second-person singular or plural (you)
• third-person (or inanimate object) singular (he/she/it)
• first-person plural (we)
• third-person (or inanimate object) plural (they)

for the present simple and present perfect tenses (more on verb tenses in the next two rules), verb forms are consistent across all subjects except third-person singular verbs and “to be” verbs.

third-person singular verbs

for third-person singular:

• simple present verbs always end in -s (he likes, she cries, he plays, she fixes)
• present perfect verbs use “has” while all other verbs use “have” (compare he has swum the english channel before to i have swum the english channel before).

 
act grammar pro tip:

since the act english section requires you to speed through 75 questions in only 45 minutes, don’t waste time checking subject-verb agreement for the following verb tenses:

• simple past
• past perfect
• past perfect progressive
• all basic and progressive future tenses

if these names are confusing, no worries, because we’ll go over them in the next two rules!

the verb forms in these cases are the same across all subjects, including third-person singular (e.g. i walked, he walked, we will walk, she will walk, they had been, he had been).

“to be” verbs

the following are the subject-verb agreement rules for the verb “to be”:

act grammar practice: subject-verb agreement

 
act grammar pro tip:

when you come across a question that seems to be testing subject-verb agreement, identify the subject right away and match it with the verb. the act will definitely confuse you with sentences like the one above that put information between the subject and the verb. because “projects” is the word closest to “were,” it looks like there is subject-verb agreement, even though “projects” is not the subject of the sentence; the subject of the sentence is “philosophy.”

act grammar rule #4: modals are helping verbs that define the mood of regular verbs.

modals are a category of words (auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs) that appear before verbs in sentences. these are words like can, should, would, could, may, might, etc. the purpose of modals is to add a subtle distinction to the tone, intent, or purpose of a piece of writing.

even though you use modals in everyday language, it can be hard to know which situations allow you to use modals interchangeably and which situations require the use of one modal over another.

take “can” and “could” for example. if you want to ask someone for a favor, you can use the following two options and the meaning is pretty much the same:

can you pass me the broccoli?
could you pass me the broccoli?

“can” and “could” are also used to express possibility but sometimes in different ways. for example, if you’ve been waiting for the bus a while, someone could say the following to you:

the bus can be a little late sometimes → the focus here is on the bus’ past tendency to be late sometimes, which provides information about the present. that’s why “could” does not make sense.

in fact, the bus could be late as much as 20 minutes → the focus here is on the bus’ future possibility of being up to 20 minutes late, based on past information. that’s why “can” does not make sense.

confusing, right?! luckily, if you’re a native english speaker, you should know most of these rules internally. so the best way to tackle modals on the act is to pay extra attention when they come up.

 
act grammar pro tip:

verbs change to their bare form following modals, meaning that there are no tense or subject-verb agreement markers. act english often tests these kinds of minor shifts in verb form, so be on the lookout.

below are some examples of how verbs change to their bare form when you add a modal:

she is → she should be
they are → they could be
he eats → he might eat

if you’re still unclear on the different ways modals are used, check out the video below, which goes over the above examples in a bit more depth:

act grammar practice: modals

act grammar rule #5: english has six basic tenses.

there are two elements that make up the six basic tenses: the tense itself (whether an action happens in the past, present, or future) and the aspect (how an action relates to different aspects of time).

the two main aspects are simple (the focus is on when a singular action is, was, or will be completed) and perfect (the focus is on when an action is connected to more than one time period or when the action happening is secondary to the action itself).

it’s a bit confusing to discuss aspects without examples, so keep reading! although you don’t need to memorize these terms for the act, being familiar with the general structures of verb tenses will give you an edge on the exam.

simple past

the simple past tense is used to show something that has already happened → i studied for the act last year.

simple present

the simple present tense is used to express:

• thoughts → he thinks i should get more sleep.
• feelings → i feel better.
• desires → i want the new iphone. i hope i do well on the act.
• facts → a supreme court justice’s term lasts a lifetime.
• actions that happen regularly, continuously, and/or unendingly → they go to soccer practice once a week.
• actions or events that are already planned → the guests arrive tomorrow.
• orders or instructions → turn left at the stop sign.

simple future

the simple future tense is used to express anything that is intended to happen in the future → i will go to college next year.

past perfect

the past perfect tense is used to talk about an action in the past that happened before another action in the past → by the time i woke up, my mother had left for work.

present perfect

the present perfect tense is used to express:

• an action that started in the past and has some relevance to the present → she has played piano for 8 years. they have been to the shoe store twice since it opened.
• a past action in which the focus is more on the action itself rather than the fact that it happened in the past → i have skydived before.

future perfect

the future perfect tense is used to discuss a completed action in the future → my brother will have turned 30 by the time this decade is over.

act grammar practice: basic tenses

act grammar rule #6: english has six progressive tenses.

progressive tenses describe continuous actions that happen in the past, present, or future. like basic tenses, they also have simple and perfect aspects.

past progressive

the past progressive tense is a simple tense used to show something was in the process of happening when something else happened → i was watching tv when you called me.

present progressive

the present progressive tense is the one we typically use to describe actions taking place in the present → what are you doing right now? i am studying for the act, so please don’t bother me.

present progressive can also be used to describe actions in the future → i am going on vacation tomorrow. they are not working next monday because it’s a holiday.

future progressive

the future progressive tense is used to describe an action that is in the middle of happening at a particular time in the future → what will he be doing tomorrow at 11 am? he will be doing his chores.

past perfect progressive

the past perfect progressive tense is sort of like the past progressive tense but it’s used when you want to stress that an action had been going on for a long time → i had been watching tv for two hours when you called.

present perfect progressive

the present perfect progressive tense is used to express:

• an action that had been going on in the past and only recently stopped → we are exhausted because we have been studying for the act non-stop for four hours.
• an action that started in the past and is happening in the current moment → i have been studying for the act for two hours.

future perfect progressive

the future perfect progressive tense is used to discuss a continuous action in the future at a particular time → my mother will have been making dinner by the time i come home from school.

act grammar practice: progressive tense

act grammar rule #7: watch out for subjects that come after the verb

subject-verb agreement questions on the act also try to confuse you with sentences in which the subject comes after the verb. this is called subject-verb inversion. for example, in the sentence…

under the lamppost stood a mysterious man.

…the subject “mysterious man” comes after the verb “stood.”

subject-verb inversions can be particularly tough. when you see a sentence like this, your mental ear has no chance of hearing the correct subject before you get to the verb because you haven’t even read it yet.

act grammar pro tip:

in the above sentence, note that there is not a comma after lamppost! many students want to place a comma here. resist!

act grammar practice: subject-verb inversion

act grammar rule #8: verb tenses in a passage should be consistent

unless there is a specific reason to change the tenses of verbs in a passage (such as a shift from describing past events to describing present or future ones), verb tense should be the same across a passage.

for example, in the sentence, “the noodles are produced on a large automated assembly line and then were put into boxes,” are is in present tense and were is in past tense. the verbs need to be changed to just one tense so that the structure is parallel. if this comes up on the act, the verb you choose to change depends on the greater context in the passage.

act grammar practice: verb tense consistency

pronouns

pronouns replace or refer to subjects or objects in a sentence. there are several types of pronouns that will come up on the act, including:

• subject pronouns, which replace the subject(s) of a sentence: i / you / he / she / it / we / they
• object pronouns replace the object(s), or nouns to which an action is being done: me / you / him / her / it / us / them
• possessive pronouns, which indicate ownership: mine / yours / his / hers / its / ours / theirs

for a full list of pronoun types, check out this list.

act grammar rule #9: a pronoun must always match its antecedent.

an antecedent refers to the subject(s) or object(s) that the pronoun replaces in the sentence/paragraph.

comprehension check:

in the below example, does the antecedent match the pronoun?

we went to the store this morning and they were out of milk.

act grammar pro tip:

here are our act english grammar tips for knocking antecedent/pronoun questions out of the park:

• “he” or “she” only refers to people. some people may call their cars/boats/etc “she,” but when it comes to act english rules, the correct pronoun is “it.”
• it is perfectly fine to use “one” or “you” when writing about someone else. yet once you choose which word to use in your writing, you can’t switch back and forth.
• if you see an underlined pronoun with no antecedent in the sentence, the correct answer is just about always the proper noun.

act grammar practice: pronoun-antecedent matching

act grammar rule #10: watch out for ambiguous pronouns.

sentences with two or more antecedents run the risk of having ambiguous pronouns. for example:

mark met steve after he had dinner.

though the writer might know that mark was the person who had dinner, the reader would have no idea. here’s the correct way to write the sentence:

mark met steve after mark had dinner.

(a quick aside: though the sentence above is technically correct and would be a correct answer on the act english test, it isn’t the best way to convey information. if you’re focused on improving the flow of your writing, a better version would be: after mark had dinner, he met steve. there, doesn’t that sound better? )
 
 

learn more and practice with ambiguous pronouns!

conjunctions

your knowledge of act english grammar rules has to include conjunctions because the english section is all about them! the test makers will not only test you on how to use conjunctions correctly but also on how to pick the correct conjunction to convey the intention of a sentence or sentences. here are the rules about the two types of conjunctions: coordinating and subordinating.

act grammar rule #11: coordinating conjunctions join clauses that are equally important.

coordinating conjunctions describe how two equally important clauses relate to one another: i eat pizza all the time, so i obviously like it. i like pizza, but i don’t like ice cream.

coordinating conjunctions are also used right before the last item in a list (notice how a comma is used before the conjunction): my favorite things to do at camp are hiking, swimming, and sailing.

the acronym fanboys can help us remember coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

act grammar practice: coordinating conjunctions

act grammar rule #12: subordinating conjunctions join clauses where one clause is the most important.

subordinating conjunctions are used when a sentence has at least one independent clause and one or more additional clauses that enhance the main clause. these clauses can be independent or dependent clauses.

there are many subordinating conjunctions. here are a few common ones: after, although, because, if, than, that, when, where, while, before, as soon as, since, though, unless, until, once.

take the following sentence:

i plan to launch my career as a poet once i finish this novel i am writing because my english teacher told me i could do it for extra credit.

in this example above, the main clause is, “i plan to launch my career as a poet.” the subordinating conjunction “once” gives us more information on when the speaker plans to launch her poetic career, and the second subordinating conjunction “because” gives more information on why the writer is writing a novel first. these subordinating conjunctions clearly show how the dependent clauses build on the main clause.

comprehension check:

fill in the blank below. should it be “because” or “although”?

the first few months have been relatively dry _____ weather forecasters predicted a rainy year.

act grammar practice: subordinating conjunctions

need more help with conjunctions? check out this guide from grammar monster!

parallelism

parallel structure refers to a pattern in writing or grammatical structure. when it comes to sentences that list items, compare two or more items, or contain multiple prepositional phrases, parallelism is key. because parallelism errors can be some of the hardest to catch, the below rules are some of the most useful grammar rules for the act.

act grammar rule #13: make sure that all items in a list are equal.

do you see anything wrong with the below sentence?

for breakfast, i like to eat cereal, fruit, and i also like yogurt.

“yogurt” is getting a little extra love there and grammatically-speaking, that’s a no-no.

to correct the parallel structure we need to get rid of the stuff in front of “yogurt” so we just have a list of three nouns:

for breakfast, i like to eat cereal, fruit, and yogurt.

lists in a sentence don’t necessarily have to be a group of nouns; they could be verb phrases, for example:

to escape the wicked witch, the boy ran out of the gingerbread house, rolled down the hill, and went jumping across a river of fire.

comprehension check:

what’s the parallelism error in the above sentence?

act grammar practice: parallelism in lists

act grammar rule #14: make sure the right things are being compared in a sentence

comparisons are among the trickier parallelism questions tested on the act. but once you realize how ridiculous comparison parallelism errors sound to the ear, you’ll be able to spot them with ease.

in the following sentence, we have a parallelism error:

danny’s test scores weren’t as good as bryan.

as this sentence stands, it looks like it’s comparing danny’s test scores to bryan, the human, which makes no sense. the sentence should read as some sort of variation of the below:

danny’s test scores weren’t as good as bryan’s (test) scores.

act grammar practice: parallelism in comparisons

act grammar rule #15: isolate each phrase in prepositional phrases to ensure parallelism

sometimes even trickier parallel structure questions have to do with prepositional phrases, which are—you guessed it!—phrases that contain a preposition. to do well on these types of questions, try reviewing idioms on the act, which covers common prepositional phrases.

comprehension check:

below is an example of a sentence with prepositional phrases. how do you think the parallelism in the sentence below can be improved?

i was both surprised and worried about the outcome of our class elections.

act grammar practice: parallelism with prepositional phrases

modifiers

modifiers are words or phrases that describe another word or phrase in a sentence. take the following:

yawning, laila got up from the couch and left the room.

in the example, the word “yawning” is modifying the subject, laila.

act grammar rule #16: misplaced modifiers describe the wrong part of the sentence

do you see anything funny in the following sentence?

i don’t get how my sister can walk our dog in heels.

while you may automatically assume that my sister is the one wearing the heels, the sentence makes it seem like the dog is. although this is surely a delightful mental image, we should eliminate any confusion about who is doing the heel wearing. here are two ways of doing that:

• bringing “heels” closer to “my sister”: i don’t get how my sister can wear heels and walk our dog.
• adding a subordinating conjunction: i don’t get how my sister can walk our dog while wearing heels.

act grammar practice: misplaced modifiers

act grammar rule #17: dangling modifiers don’t actually modify anything in the sentence

while a misplaced modifier seems to fit the word or phrase it’s modifying—even though it’s incorrectly placed—dangling modifiers are missing an appropriate word or phrase altogether. dangling modifiers tend to be easier to catch because they just sound off to the ear.

take the following sentence for example:

shoving food into my mouth, a content sigh escaped me.

the sentence currently reads as though the content sigh was shoving food into my mouth, which is just bonkers. to fix this dangling modifier, you need to add in the subject:

shoving food into my mouth, i sighed contentedly.

act grammar practice: dangling modifiers

appositives

appositives are kind of like modifiers, but they are specifically a noun or a noun phrase. the structure of an appositive is a bit different from a modifier as well.

act grammar rule #18: most of the time, appositives are set off with commas.

in these scenarios, appositives introduce extra information that is helpful but not essential to the sentence. this means you can lift whatever is set off with commas out of the sentence, and it should still read as a sentence. take the following sentence with the appositive in italics:

my uncle, the greatest chef who ever lived, is cooking dinner tonight.

you can take the appositive out and the sentence would still be complete:
my uncle is cooking dinner tonight.

so when an appositive is in the middle of a sentence, make sure that one of these commas isn’t dropped and that you’re actually setting off the right part of the sentence with the comma. the following are all incorrect:

• my uncle the greatest chef who ever lived, is cooking dinner tonight.
• my uncle, the greatest chef who ever lived is cooking dinner tonight.
• my uncle the greatest chef, who ever lived, is cooking dinner tonight. (if you take out the part that is set off by the commas, the sentence reads: my uncle the greatest chef is cooking dinner tonight. this is not grammatically correct because there’s still part of the appositive—”the greatest chef“—that’s in the sentence and not correctly separated by commas.)

act grammar practice: non-essential appositives

act grammar rule #19: essential appositives are not set off with commas.

this is a trickier scenario that the act might test. you can try the “lift it out of the sentence” test to see if taking an appositive out creates an error. take a look at this example:

president of the school board, jane smith, decreed that summer vacation should be abolished.

in this case, if we set jane smith off with commas, that would mean it could be lifted out of the sentence and the sentence should still read correctly. but it doesn’t. we would need a “the” before “president” to make this sentence work as it is structured, so jane smith should not be set off with commas.

(note that we would no longer have an essential appositive if the sentence was structured like this: jane smith, president of the school board, decreed that summer vacation should be abolished.)

double-check to make sure lift-out method works

for some essential appositive errors, you can’t rely on the lift-out method alone. take the following sentence for example: yesterday, i met, my cousin’s partner, madison.

if you used the lift-out method in this case, you would end up with yesterday, i met madison, which is grammatically correct. but remember: appositives are kind of like modifiers, as in they’re meant to modify a certain word or phrase. the way that it’s written in the initial sentence, it looks like “my cousin’s partner” is modifying “met,” which does not make sense.

as this sentence is structured, “my cousin’s partner” is an essential appositive; thus, the sentence should read:

yesterday, i met my cousin’s partner madison.

act grammar practice: essential appositives

more act grammar practice

although this post is a great starting point for prepping for the act english section, it definitely does not cover all the act grammar rules that will help you score big on test day. for more great act english grammar review, definitely check out:

• everything you need to know about act punctuation
• act word form rules
• practice with usage & mechanics questions
• hard act english problems

another great tool is the web browser plug-in grammarly. it’ll check your grammar wherever you’re typing on the internet, giving you an easy way to review your grammar rules without realizing it!

now that you have all the tools to score big on act english, your act grammar practice should be a breeze!

the post 19 act grammar rules you need to know to get a great score appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

how do you decide what a good sat subject test score is? a score at or above 700 on any test would be considered a good sat subject test score at elite colleges (schools that accept 20% or fewer of applicants). if you’re not applying to elite schools, scores at or above mean scores (which are typically a little higher than 600) aren’t shabby, either.

here’s a good rule of thumb: find out what a good sat score on the general test is for the schools you’re targeting, then aim to achieve a similar score on the subject tests. that will certainly get you a good sat subject test score!

how do we know what a good subject test score is?

the following chart shows the scores 700, 750 and 800 and their most recent percentile rank for a few subject tests. you’ll also find average sat subject test scores here, as well. finally, this table includes the most recent percentile ranks for the math and evidence-based reading and writing sections of the regular sat for better comparison:

judging from these percentile ranks, a 700 doesn’t look like such a great score after all. a lot of students therefore mistakenly believe that they must score a perfect 800 on subject tests to be even considered a decent candidate for highly-ranked schools. this is untrue! here’s why.

why it’s tricky to figure out what your score goals should be

on the regular sat, most people would probably say a section score of 700 or more is a really great score because it corresponds to a high percentile rank. if one didn’t know too much about the sat subject tests, one would expect this to be the same case on the sat subject test, right? well, you’ve already seen how seemingly high scores on sat subject tests translate to percentile rankings.

and here’s the thing:

a 700 on any subject test, including the ones on this chart, is still a good score! of course, the higher you score on any standardized test, the better your chances are of admission. but it’s important to know that while the sat is created with the general population of students in mind, the sat subject tests are specifically made for students who excel at the given subject.

the 79th percentile rank for a perfect score on math 2 doesn’t mean that it’s really easy; it just means that a lot of students who are amazing at math take the math 2 subject test. so, while a 700 may look disheartening next to a 43rd percentile rank, another way to look at it is that you fit right in with the average math brainiac. unless you’re applying to elite, math-heavy programs, any college would be impressed with a student that scored a 700 on the math 2 test.

what are strong scores for the ivy league?

top schools seem to get it, too. another reason why it’s hard to determine good sat subject test scores is because of the lack of college admissions statistics for sat subject tests. but from the few schools that release them, we can see that top schools aren’t sending applications to the reject pile just because applicants are scoring lower than the 80th percentile on subject tests. one reason for this is because sat subject test scores aren’t required for many schools, even ivies. take a look:

note that for the 2020-2021 admissions cycle, many of these schools have made their testing policies more flexible due to covid-19. check each school’s admissions page about their requirements for more information!

sat subject test policies at ivy league schools

what else can we glean about how top-tier schools use sat subject test scores? at cornell, a score of 600 on the sat spanish test is considered the same level as a 4 on the ap spanish test.

similarly, boston university—still a competitive college, but less competitive than most ivies–allows students to use a score of 560 or higher to waive their language requirements, even though a score of 560 puts you near the 20th percentile on the spanish reading subject test.

in other words? at some top schools, you’ll be able to use sufficiently high subject test scores for language credits or placement.

the post what is a good sat subject test score? appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

math can be tricky. here’s your chance to turn the tables and apply these easy-to-apply tricks that will let you rule the sat math section as opposed to letting the sat math section rule you. while you’re at it, you should really take the time to dig through the the magoosh high school blog, as it is chock full of refreshers of foundational concepts that you learned in your algebra and geometry classes as well as sat-specific strategies that you probably didn’t learn in your algebra or geometry classes. don’t worry if you come across content that was written before the sat redesign – a lot of it still applies! at the same time, keep checking this blog for updates, as we are working hard to make sure you get the most up-to-date sat info!

1. cross-multiply to find the greater fraction

if you’re presented with finding the greater of two fractions and you’re not sure which one it is, cross-multiplying can ease that confusion. draw an x from the numerator of each fraction to the denominator of the other fraction, multiply, and write the answer next to the corresponding numerator; the fraction with the greater value is bigger. in the graphic below, we use this method to determine that 5/7 is greater than 2/3.

2. “greater than” vs. “less than”

i’m slightly embarrassed to admit this but to this day, i have to use a mnemonic to remember which direction goes the “less than” sign and which direction goes “greater than.” if you are in the same boat (no shame if you are), here are two ways you can remember:

• the alligator always eats the bigger number. this makes sense if you turn the inequality sign into an alligator (see below). i learned this in the 5^th grade and it has never, ever let me down.
• or you can just rely on the perks of being a millennial and growing up with “less-than-three.” by simply remembering that <3 uses the “less than” sign, you should be good to go!

3. divisibility rules

knowing divisibility rules – that is, patterns that all multiples of a given number share – can save you time, particularly on the no-calculator section, when you need to find factors of larger numbers. without even realizing it, you probably already knew the divisibility rules for the numbers 2 (its multiples are always even), 5 (its multiples always end in 5 or 0), and 10 (its multiples always end in 0). but what happens if you come across a problem like this on the sat:

find a, if b is a positive integer greater than 10 and ab = 57

assuming you don’t immediately recognize potential factors for 57, this is where the 3-9 divisibility test can come in handy. to check if a number is divisible by 3 or 9, all you have to do is mentally add up its digits and see if they add up to a smaller multiple of 3 or 9. if they add up to a multiple of 9, then the number is divisible by both 3 and 9; if they add up to a multiple of 3, then the number is only divisible by 3. for example:

57: 5 + 7 = 12 (multiple of 3, therefore divisible by 3, but not by 9)

then you would divide 57 by 3 to see that it’s 19. because b is greater than 10, b has to be 19, making a = 3. or you use logic to figure out a has to be 3 just by doing the divisibility test. note: if 57 didn’t pass the 3-9 divisibility test, chances are it’s probably a multiple of 7. although there are enough divisibility rules to make your head spin, the ones we mention in this post will be sufficient for you to make your factoring that much easier on the sat.

4. the quadratic formula song

a lot of students have a tough time remembering the quadratic formula and unfortunately, it’s not one of the formulas that the sat math test has in the beginning of the two math sections. fortunately, there’s a nifty song to the tune of “pop goes the weasel” that has saved countless students on their math tests (see for yourself in the comments):

and in case “pop goes the weasel” is not exactly your jam, there are so many versions on youtube that are more hip with the times. just make sure you’re singing in your head on test day.

5. how to remember trig functions

sohcahtoa.

if don’t know what this is, you’re probably wondering why i’m yelling in a foreign language. sohcahtoa is actually a mnemonic that can help you remember how to figure out the sine, cosine, and tangent of an angle from the sides of a right triangle – or vice versa. now that trig concepts are being tested on the sat, check out how to use sohcahtoa, which will really come in handy for questions where you’re expected to use these functions to determine the length of a missing side.

know any other cool math tricks, shortcuts, or mnemonics that help you on sat math? share them in the comments below!

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