Time is not on your side when taking the ACT test.  The more you can do to speed up answering questions, the more time you’ll have to finish and double check your work.  It is critical to your success on the ACT that you use your study time to learn how to take tests faster.  You can only do that by learning various strategies, identifying the ones that work for you, and then practicing them.  Practice tests also give you a way to try out various tips that you have learned. 

 There are lots of ways to make use of practice tests.  Learning about those tips will help you make the best use of ACT practice tests.

It is also vital that you have the best practice tests to use.  The very best is the Real ACT Prep Guide.  It contains actual ACT practice tests that come right from the makers of the ACT.  Don’t short change yourself.  Make sure the Real ACT Prep Guide is part of your ACT test preparation strategy.

My son’s friend forgot his calculator when he went to take the ACT test.  You might think that would be devasting.  Nope–he got a 34 composite.  Didn’t hurt him a bit.  Of course he is a smart guy, but the point is you don’t have to have a calculator to do well.

There are several types of problems where you should probably avoid your calculator.  Those would include questions where the answers are expressed as fractions (your calculator will use decimals–converting will just slow you down) or questions involving variables.

Remeber that you have 60 minutes for 60 questions.  The makers of the ACT test don’t make problems that require a lot of extensive calculations.  There isn’t time for it.  If you think you need to use a calculator, make sure it is because you have clearly thought things out and are sure you really need a calculator to do that problem.  If you are reaching for it on most problems you are probably making a mistake and not understanding the math problems.  Very few calculations on the test are that difficult.

If you get the math portion done with time to go back and double check your work, you might use your calculator to double check some of your math.  But ONLY when have everything already completed.

And never use an unfamiliar calculator on the ACT.  You’ll just confuse yourself and slow things down.  By the way, some calculator models are not allowed to be used on the ACT.  Make sure you check the ACT website to see if yours is on of those.

So….since practice makes perfect, when doing your ACT practice tests, try doing as many problems as possible without your calculator.  You’ll probably discover shortcuts to help you do the test even faster.

The tip is to do the easiest reading passages first. The ACT reading test is composed of 4 passages each of which have 10 questions on them. There are four subjects that are used for the passages. They are natural science, social studies, humanities, prose fiction. Each of these areas is always represented by one of the passages.

If you are most comfortable with natural sciences than do that one first. Don’t get bogged down with a prose fiction passage, even if it is the first one! You’ll end up wasting valuable time. Start with the one that you are most comfortable with.

Another approach is to quickly scan the passages and see if any of them involve a subject you have an interest in or familiarity with. This will also make that passage an easier one for you.

Practice this tip with ACT practice tests. See how easy it is to find out if a passage is easier for you. Then practice doing those passages first. And watch your score increase, since you’ll have more time for the harder passages.