What Your Teen Needs to Know Before Taking the ACT

The ACT or American College Testing exam determines your teens knowledge in the areas of math, English, reading and science. An optional writing test was added in 2005. Most parents and many teenage students are unaware of what preparations to make before taking the ACT.

When your teen takes the ACT they should be aware that their knowledge of the various subjects are being tested. Assume that your teen has not done so well in certain subjects while attending school. Math and science are common subjects a lot of teens do poorly and have very little interest in.

Now they must face the reality that, by not doing well in the past, it is going to come back to haunt them. Their choice of a college will be limited. No amount of studying, in the short term, will help them much now. All is not lost, however, here are some things that can be done to help your teem prepare for the ACT and get better scores.

1.Get out notes from previous classes and look them over to refresh what knowledge your teen should already have. I will be a great help if your teen kept all of their previous class materials. Help them by asking questions and having them do math problems from these notes. If they are having difficulty then help them see where their mistakes are. This should give your teen more confidence in their abilities they already have.

2.Work on helping your teen build confidence. Get your teen a few of the many great books on building confidence. The act of reading and learning new self-confidence methods will enhance the value of the experience many times. Your teen can gain a lot of confidence by being familiar with the test they will be taking. Go to the ACT website and have them take the practice exams.

3.Your teen will be experiencing heightened levels of anxiety and frustration. There are many methods that can be used to reduce your teens stress level and lower their frustrations. Talk to them and make them understand that no matter how well they do on the ACT it won't change the way you think of them. Help them get more exercise and spend quality time with them. Yoga is a great stress reliever if it fits with your teens life style. Don't force them to be something they are not. This is not the time to convince them to become someone you want them to be.

4.The day before the test should be calm and as stress free as possible. Your teen is free to do what they want with their friends or even play video games. All of your family members should be on alert to have a peaceful day and to not start any family arguments. Make it a "lets treat everyone with respect day". Your entire family should show your teen they are on their side and are with them no matter what the outcome.

Studying for the ACT is a concurrent event that takes place over a course of many years. The best your teen can do, at this point in time, is to do as well as they can with the knowledge they already have. Cramming knowledge in by reading the classics, learning more math or writing essays can't be expected to do much good. Confidence and self-esteem is key to a higher score.

Sources: Personal experience gained by raising a teen that did very well on the ACT.