“Hey! What’d you make on the ACT?” Many MSMS students admit they dread this question. The upcoming mandated ACT for juniors on April 20 is making some students anxious.

Many juniors have similar questions:

“Will I finally get the score I want?”

“Will it be enough for me to get into a great college (hopefully for free or reduced price tuition)?”

“Will I run out of time on the reading or science section?”

“What formulas will I need to memorize for the math section?”

Here are some tips, suggested by MSMS teachers and test preparation sources, to help out with test anxiety:

1. Get sleep: While MSMS students might not remember what “sleep” is, students will feel better well-rested for the test instead of being half-conscious at such an early hour of the day. By just getting the medically-recommended eight to nine hours of sleep, you can improve your chances of scoring higher.
2. Caffeinate normally: “Before you go to the test, caffeinate regularly. So if you have two cups of coffee in the morning, drink two cups of coffee. Don’t drink eight cups of coffee. It’s not going to help. But if you don’t drink coffee, don’t drink coffee [before the test],” said Dr. Thomas Easterling, literature instructor.
3. Do not stress: If you stress about this test, you will not be entirely focused on taking the test. Breathe and relax. Students could use Jesse McCartney’s song “Leavin’” as their anthem to ACT success
4. Hey what time is it? Time for you to get a watch. Some students get distracted from the test, but with a watch, keeping track of the time will put you in a better shape to finish the section on time. Make sure you invest in a watch that does not beep or make alarms because that may make your test invalid.
5. Cross your T’s and dot your I’s. There is a checklist of materials to bring for the ACT on its website. Make sure you have the right type of pencil (bring two) and calculator.

There are four sections on the ACT (without the additional writing section not required in MSMS’s mandatory junior ACT). Here are the actual test-taking tips that are section-specific:

English Section:

1. Think simply
2. Be aware of context and meaning
3. Look for consistency
4. Avoid redundancy

These tips and more are further explained here.

Reading Section:

1. Read the questions first. Dr. Easterling said he is the type of person to read the questions first and then the passage; this strategy is commonly said to improve efficiency.
2. Make notes. When you read the questions first and then read the passage, underline, mark or make some type of note when you remember a specific topic mentioned in a question so that when you do answer the question, you can find the text for that question quickly.
3. Read critically (but swiftly). This is so that you do not waste time rereading the passage but still finish the section efficiently.
4. Read daily. Read a nonfiction article once a day before the test so that you are used to reading different types of passages.

Math Section:

1. Remember basic formulas. The formula for a circle, area formula for various shapes, etc.
2. Do not rely on your calculator. “Don’t think that your calculator is always going to be faster. Sometimes just doing it in your head is faster and the calculator actually harms you,” said Math Instructor Lauren Zaradona.

Science Section:

1. It is mainly interpreting graphs/data. While it is beneficial to read the passage, the science section comes down to being able to understand the graphs and how each variable relates to each other.
2. Website help!  There are other links at this site as well.

All of the sections:

1. Read the questions carefully. Since everyone takes a class at MSMS, students testing on April 20 are well-acquainted with this tip
2. It’s okay to guess. You do not get deductions for guessing on the ACT so it is recommended to not end the section with empty bubbles. For more information on how to guess smartly go here.
3.  Extra tips. For more information and tips on all of the sections go here or here. 

At the end of the day, students are more than the numbers on their score report, and some MSMS students approach the ACT with this attitude. Junior Damare Baker said, “Despite our numbers, we will amount to something great in the future.” Haydn Schroader, another MSMS junior, gives this advice to all of her classmates: “Stay determined.”