By Lisa Crilley Mallis
If you are a parent of a high school junior or senior, you know that the ACT scores were available for viewing online last week. Did your kid score as high as you hoped? Is the ACT prep work finally over? Or, are the scores just a few points lower than expected and back to the drawing board to retake the test?
I work with students each month preparing for both the ACT and the SAT - and I have found a couple of common denominators -
1) Kids who prepare usually do better than kids that don't! I know - it seems like common sense, however, not all students practice before the test - or even are familiar with the guidelines and content covered on the test. Taking practice tests, working with a tutor one-one-one, taking a college exam prep course, doing online practice problems, will help improve ACT and SAT scores.
2) Teens who practice with a plan improve their scores even more. Often, when I help students prepare for the test, I remind them that if they continue to do the same thing over and over again, it's unrealistic to assume the score will increase. Some students learn test taking strategies, but don't implement them when they practice. Then, they don't understand why the score didn't increase. Seems a little counterproductive. Those students that continually review concepts and strategies as they practice tend to increase their scores even more.
3) Finally, teens that are organized and utilize time management techniques in their everyday life and in regards to prepping for the ACT and/or SAT test tend to show the greatest increase in scores. Why? I believe it's because an organized brain makes better decisions. Kids usually have higher GPA's when they are active in a sport, then during the off-season. Busy people get things done. You've heard those statistics. The busier you are, the more organized you have to be to succeed or excel. The same holds true with prepping for the ACT. Students that use a daily to-do list, break big projects down into smaller steps, keep a calendar, schedule practice sessions, keep an organized notebook with content and strategies, look over old practice tests, and learn a new vocabulary word each day, etc. tend to have a greater increase in scores than those that are unorganized.
The above three generalizations are based on my experience working with students over the past 10 years as they prepare for the test. Are there exceptions? Of course. Some students exceed expectations without doing one minute of prep work, while others do full-length practice tests each week for months without the score increasing. However, overall students that are well-organized and practice time management skills every day seem to see a greater increase in scores than those that have papers scattered everywhere, are late to tutoring sessions, forgot to do their homework, etc.
Did your student score as well as you hoped?
Lisa Crilley Mallis the owner of SystemSavvy Consulting and the creator of the College Success Initiative. She has assisted many students, solopreneurs, and busy moms, increase productivity and decrease clutter. If you have a high school or college student, visit http://www.systemsavvyconsulting.com/CSI.html for information on the College Success Initiative.
If you are a parent of a high school junior or senior, you know that the ACT scores were available for viewing online last week. Did your kid score as high as you hoped? Is the ACT prep work finally over? Or, are the scores just a few points lower than expected and back to the drawing board to retake the test?
I work with students each month preparing for both the ACT and the SAT - and I have found a couple of common denominators -
1) Kids who prepare usually do better than kids that don't! I know - it seems like common sense, however, not all students practice before the test - or even are familiar with the guidelines and content covered on the test. Taking practice tests, working with a tutor one-one-one, taking a college exam prep course, doing online practice problems, will help improve ACT and SAT scores.
2) Teens who practice with a plan improve their scores even more. Often, when I help students prepare for the test, I remind them that if they continue to do the same thing over and over again, it's unrealistic to assume the score will increase. Some students learn test taking strategies, but don't implement them when they practice. Then, they don't understand why the score didn't increase. Seems a little counterproductive. Those students that continually review concepts and strategies as they practice tend to increase their scores even more.
3) Finally, teens that are organized and utilize time management techniques in their everyday life and in regards to prepping for the ACT and/or SAT test tend to show the greatest increase in scores. Why? I believe it's because an organized brain makes better decisions. Kids usually have higher GPA's when they are active in a sport, then during the off-season. Busy people get things done. You've heard those statistics. The busier you are, the more organized you have to be to succeed or excel. The same holds true with prepping for the ACT. Students that use a daily to-do list, break big projects down into smaller steps, keep a calendar, schedule practice sessions, keep an organized notebook with content and strategies, look over old practice tests, and learn a new vocabulary word each day, etc. tend to have a greater increase in scores than those that are unorganized.
The above three generalizations are based on my experience working with students over the past 10 years as they prepare for the test. Are there exceptions? Of course. Some students exceed expectations without doing one minute of prep work, while others do full-length practice tests each week for months without the score increasing. However, overall students that are well-organized and practice time management skills every day seem to see a greater increase in scores than those that have papers scattered everywhere, are late to tutoring sessions, forgot to do their homework, etc.
Did your student score as well as you hoped?
Lisa Crilley Mallis the owner of SystemSavvy Consulting and the creator of the College Success Initiative. She has assisted many students, solopreneurs, and busy moms, increase productivity and decrease clutter. If you have a high school or college student, visit http://www.systemsavvyconsulting.com/CSI.html for information on the College Success Initiative.
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