How to Practice ACT Reading & Math

Rehearse both knowledge and test-taking strategies to prepare for the ACT.

The ACT assessment is a standardized exam that measures high school students' academic readiness for college. The ACT includes four subject sections, including extensive sections covering reading and mathematics. Though your high school education should provide adequate content knowledge to perform well on the exam, preparing for the exam through simulated practice tests and targeted study methods will arm you with test-taking strategies that should translate into improved test performance.

Things You'll Need

• Note cards
• Calculator
• Pencil
• Watch or clock
• English textbook

Instructions

ACT Reading

1. Familiarize yourself with the content of the reading section. Selections in the reading portion of the ACT cover four sub-content areas: social studies, natural sciences, prose fiction and humanities. Your ability to answer the test questions will rely solely on your comprehension of the provided passages, but prior knowledge of each content area will certainly serve you well.

2. Take an online ACT reading test. This test recreates questions like those that will appear on the actual test. The online test will provide an immediate score and feedback about your performance. You'll have a better idea about how much additional preparation you need.

3. Time your test taking. The ACT reading test allows 35 minutes to read several short paragraphs and answer 40 multiple-choice questions. Print out a sample test from the ACT website, and supplement it with additional passages and questions found in your English textbook.

4. Rehearse active reading strategies. Underline main ideas, important phrases, context clues and evidence in sample passages as your read. Your notes may expedite the answering process.

ACT Math

1. Familiarize yourself with the content of the math portion of the ACT. Plane geometry and pre-algebra make up 46 percent of the questions. Elementary and intermediate algebra and coordinate geometry each contribute to 15 percent of the questions, and 7 percent of the questions cover trigonometry.

2. Take an online ACT math test. Time your work to complete the test within the 60 minutes allotted for the real math test. You may use an approved calculator.

3. Review the scoring feedback provided by the online exam. Identify the types of questions that were the most difficult for your. Group the questions according to their math sub-content area.

4. Use index cards to create math flash cards based on the sub-content groups with which you're having the most trouble. Flashcards may contain math vocabulary, math symbols, sample questions, graphs or drawings. Use the flashcards to enhance your studying.

Tips & Warnings

• ACT tests don't penalize you for wrong answers, so it's in your best interest to answer every question.

• ACT tests are administered with paper and pencil rather than on computers. For the most realistic practice session, print out the question sets to do the test by hand rather than online.

References

• ACT, Inc.: Reading Test Description
• ACT, Inc.: Math Test Content
• ACT, Inc.: Tips for Taking the ACT

Resources

• ACT, Inc.: ACT Sample Questions Reading Set 1
• ACT, Inc.: ACT Sample Questions Math Set 1
• ACT, Inc.: Can I Use a Calculator?