If your student is advanced in terms of standardized testing (scoring 25 or greater on ACT practice/ 1200 or greater on the PSAT), then you may be curious about getting a head start on the ACT.
This is a great question to ask for a number of reasons:
1. It can be hectic to focus on testing as a senior when students have to go on college visits, fill out applications for schools and scholarships, as well as enjoy their final year of high school.
2. Your student may want to pursue a variety of colleges with high score benchmarks for acceptance.
3. Your student may be close to potential scholarship cut offs that require high scores at their target schools.
With one of the scenarios above likely applying to your student, it is advantageous to navigate the testing timeline diligently. What can that look like? Below are some ways to attack it.
1. If your student hasn't taken the ACT before, have them sit for the test early Junior year in the Fall/Winter. Once they receive their scores (baseline), seek out a Spring or Summer test date that works well with your student's schedule. Prior to that test date your student should participate in some sort of prep, whether that is on their own or with a tutor, to try to reach their best potential score.
2. If your student has already taken the ACT, having them train, on their own or with a tutor, in the Fall to test in the Winter would be an appropriate path to getting ahead of the curve.
Either option is a sound way to get an early start on this process. Junior year is a great place to begin because students have developed the maturity and have gained the curriculum exposure necessary to perform at a high level on this exam. Another benefit is that it leaves many opportunities in the Summer as well as the Fall of Senior year to retest if your student is close to a target score.
After working with many families who tackled the standardized testing process a little late, I highly recommend you consider a prep game plan for your student. It can save many headaches and help make the college planning process that much smoother.
Have questions about ACT preparation? I encourage you to reach out to me! alec@transformtutor.com