r/ACT

hi guys im sure there are lots of posts like this but anyways i am an incoming sophomore who wants to take the act in september. i have taken algebra 2 and my goal is to get a 34 on the math section specifically and maybe like a 25 composite (not studying much for other sections). i just don't really know how to study for the enhanced act bc there aren't a lot of resources. i bought the college panda math book last year and wasn't sure if that was up to date for this new act. also is a 34 on math ambitious? im not sure how hard it is but i assumed i could do it with lots of studying if the content only goes up to alg 2. thx!

For context the rest of my friend group was averaging mid 20s.

Hi. I just took practice test 1 on the official ACT website. I scored 31 on english, 31 on math, 30 on reading, and 34 on science.

I had zero experience with the ACT before this test, but I did study a good amount for the SAT. I also forgot to time myself for the english and math sections, so those scores might be inflated.

Finally, I got lucky on the reading section as four of the problems I got wrong were not scored.

My practice SAT scores are: 1310 and 1270. Should I keep studying for the SAT or pursue the ACT instead?

One of my relatives scored well on the Pre-ACT (Top 2% nationwide in the U.S.).

Are there any scholarships or benefits available for students who achieve a high Pre-ACT score?

My test center closed, so ACT moved my registration across half of the country from ohio to colorado!

I am going to contact act about this because I am NOT paying 91 dollars to change my location, wish me luck

I might just drive 17 hours to take my act for the hope of a 36

https://preview.redd.it/hgp974pish2h1.png?width=756&format=png&auto=webp&s=28cf8ebdaf4cfb22ee3fe100a16d51985c9d4e57

https://preview.redd.it/t1qhbx1fsh2h1.png?width=1888&format=png&auto=webp&s=4e272d0c66f7606de7939c96277592c4a1fa332c

With the latest MAK, I was able to put together a top 75 list for ACT Math. We still don't have a ton of material (the online tests, the other ones in the red book, the two MAKs), but it's enough to get a sense. For example, these ones made the list for the first time: Binomial expansion, Hyperbola, Irrational, Find inverse function.

1. Fractions and Decimals - All four operations. Mixed numbers.

2. Area / Perimeter of basic shapes - Triangles, rectangles, circles.

3. Probability - Know the basic part:whole versions. There is usually a harder one also (like one with two events).

4. Ratio - Part:part, part:whole.

5. Linear Equations / Slope - Find the slope when given two points. Be able to isolate y (to create y = mx + b). All the standard stuff from 8th grade Algebra.

6. Quadratic skills - Factor. FOIL. Set parenthesis equal to zero. Graph parabolas.

7. Plug In - You have a value or a point that needs to be plugged into an equation or function. Distinct from “Plug in answers” (using the choices).

8. Average - Also called the arithmetic mean. There is always a basic version and usually an advanced one, like the average sum trick (see below).

9. Factoring - Mostly the basics. Almost never involves a leading coefficient.

10. Solving Equations - Be very comfortable with ax + b = cx + d. Distribute. Combine like terms. You also need to be able to create these equations based on word problems.

11. Functions - Function notation (f(x), g(x), etc.) and basic evaluation. Show up across many question types.

12. Conversion - Watch out for ones that involve powers. For example, they might give you the conversion for yards to miles, but then ask about square miles.

13. Angle chasing - 180 in a line. 180 in a triangle. Corresponding angles. Vertical angles.

14. Exponents - All operations. Fractional and negative exponents are very common too (see below).

15. MPH - The concept of speed in miles per hour is very common (sometimes combined with other conversion).

16. Percents - Know all basic variations. More advanced ones are common also.

17. Radicals - Basic operations. Translate to fractional exponents.

18. SOHCAHTOA - Every variation of right triangle trig, including word problems.

19. Arithmetic sequence - Usually asks you to find a specific term, sometimes asks you to find the formula.

20. Fractional Exponents - Rewrite radicals as fractional exponents and vice versa.

21. Graph translations - Horizontal shifts, vertical shifts. Stretches. You should recognize y = 2(x+1)^2 - 5 right away and know exactly what to do.

22. Imaginary numbers - Powers of i. What is i^2? The complex plane.

23. Negatives - Be comfortable with all operations.

24. Probability, two events - If there’s a .4 probability of rain and a .6 probability of tacos, what is the probability of rain and tacos?

25. Similar triangles - Relate the sides with a proportion.

26. Number Properties - Properties of integers: even/odd, divisibility, factors, multiples, primes.

27. Negative exponents - Know what they do and how to combine them with other exponents.

28. Picking Numbers - You never have to use this but it will be a useful option on every test.

29. Plug in answers - Like picking numbers, it’s not required but it’s often helpful.

30. Shaded area - The classic one has a square with a circle inside.

31. Triangle opposite side rule - There is a relationship between an angle and the side across from that angle.

32. Weird shape area - It’s an unusual shape but you can use rectangles and triangles to find the area.

33. Periodic function graph - Reading or interpreting graphs of sin/cos or other periodic functions. Watch for amplitude and period.

34. Weighted average - Average where each value is multiplied by its weight or frequency before summing.

35. Average sum trick - 5 tests, average is 80. After the 6th test, the average is 82. What was the 6th test score?

36. Composite function - As in g(f(x)).

37. Expected value - There is a 0.3 chance of winning $100 in Game A and 0.2 chance of winning $200 in Game B, which is unrelated to Game A. If you place bets on both games, what is the expected value of your bets?

38. Logarithms - Rewrite in exponential form. Basic operations.

39. Matrices - Adding, subtracting, multiplying. Knowing when products are possible.

40. Median - Middle when organized from low to high. Even number of numbers. What happens when you make the highest number higher or the lowest number lower?

41. Special right triangles - 30:60:90, 45:45:90.

42. System of Equations - Elimination. Substitution. Word problems.

43. Use the radius - A circle will be combined with another shape and you have to use the radius to find the essential info about that other shape.

44. Venn - There are 30 kids. 18 are in Algebra. 20 are in French. How many are in both?

45. Circle equations - (x-h)^2 + (y-k)^2 = r^2. Sometimes you have to complete the square.

46. Conjugates - Rationalize denominators that include radicals or imaginary numbers. Know that imaginary roots come in pairs.

47. Difference of two squares - (x + y)(x - y) = x^2 - y^2

48. Given points, find equation - You’re given two ordered pairs and must find the linear equation.

49. LCM - Straight up. In word problems. In algebraic fractions.

50. Law of Cosines - They almost always give you the formula. Then you just have to plug things in.

51. Linear inequality - Be comfortable solving algebraic inequalities. Graphs appear sometimes also.

52. Midpoint - Given two ordered pairs, find the midpoint. Sometimes they’ll give you the midpoint and ask for one of the pairs.

53. Multistep conversion - For example, they might give you a mph and a cost/gallon and then ask for the total cost.

54. Pythagorean Theorem - Sometimes asked directly, other times required as part of something else (like SOHCAHTOA or finding the distance between two points).

55. Remainders - Can be simple or pattern based, as in “If 1/7 is written as a repeating decimal, what is the 400th digit to the right of the decimal point?”

56. Amplitude - The height of a periodic function from midline to peak. Usually extracted from an equation or graph.

57. Arc length - Length of a portion of a circle’s circumference. Usually involves setting up a proportion with the central angle.

58. Binomial expansion - Expand expressions like (a+b)^n. May use Pascal’s Triangle or the binomial theorem.

59. Circle wedge - Sector area or arc length using the central angle / 360 (or radians) proportion.

60. Hyperbola - Recognize the standard form of a hyperbola equation and its key features. You often can solve by plugging in values or looking at the graph.

61. Identify function - “Which equation matches this graph?” — most often an exponential or shifted parabola.

62. Irrational - Recognize or reason about irrational numbers (e.g., non-terminating non-repeating decimals, square roots of non-perfect squares).

63. Polynomial remainder theorem - If you know that (x - 5) is a factor of a polynomial, you can plug in 5 and set it equal to 0 in order to solve for a constant.

64. Absolute Value Equation - Sometimes basic arithmetic, sometimes an algebraic equation or inequality.

65. Algebra LCD - Find the lowest common denominator, then combine the numerators.

66. Domain - Usually you can think of it as “possible x values”.

67. FOIL - This has to be automatic.

68. Find inverse function - Switch y and x, then isolate y.

69. Mixed Numbers - All four operations. Often combined with word problems.

70. Permutation - You have 5 plants and 3 spots. How many ways can you arrange them?

71. Prime numbers - Usually combined with something else, like basic probability.

72. Scientific notation - Go back and forth between standard and scientific notation. All four operations.

73. Time - Hours to minutes, minutes to seconds, time elapsed.

74. Value/frequency table - Find the median and mean in this format.

75. Congruent - Know that congruent shapes must have the same angles and the same size (not simply proportional).

Notable Omissions: Geometric sequence, Inverse trig, Law of Sines, Ellipses. These all appeared once in my sample, but they’ve appeared on previous Top 75 lists. There's also a very long tail of topics that have appeared once or twice so far but might be more common going forward.

I am seeing lots of grateful folks who got a point or two bump on different sections, but how many of you got yours back and they were exactly the same?

My daughter’s posted yesterday and every section is exactly the same. She needed one point in any section to bump composite to the next point, so we were hopeful.

I’m not sure if they are updating the score details with number correct % in each section or not, but those are the same too. So it appears that not a single question on hers was re-scored/thrown out/ whatever they do. Has anyone noticed their % correct changing with updated score?