Beginning in September 2016, the PreACT exam will be available to high school sophomores for the first time. Much like the PSAT, the PreACT offers a realistic glimpse of the ACT college entrance exam, which plays a critical role in college admissions and scholarship eligibility.
The PreACT also includes the ACT Interest Inventory to help students begin thinking about college majors and careers and the steps they should take now for future success.
If you decide to take the PreACT this year, consider these three ways to prepare to ensure you have the most valuable experience.
[Get to knowimportant facts about the PreACT.]
1. Investigate the PreACT’s availability: Individual high schools and districts — rather than testing centers — will administer the PreACT. Each school or district can offer the exam at any time between Sept. 1 and June 1.
As such, the dates won’t be uniform across all high schools in the U . S . that will offer the exam, or even in a particular district. Speak with your guidance counselor to determine which test dates are available to you.
Keep in mind that an earlier exam date will give you more time to prepare for the ACT. A later PreACT test date will allow you to complete more of your sophomore-year coursework; your test results then may offer a more accurate prediction of your future performance on the ACT.
Both scenarios are useful, but remember the effects that timing can have on your PreACT scores and ACT readiness.
2. Familiarize yourself with the exam format: The PreACT is an entirely new test, rather than a revision of an existing exam.
You may confuse the ACT Aspire with the PreACT, since the former test was also available to high school sophomores. However, the ACT Aspire is intended to track student progress through multiple grades, whereas the PreACT is strictly a college-readiness assessment.
As with any new test, you may have a difficult time initially finding great prep materials. Until PreACT-specific materials are developed, use ACT prep resources.
[Find outwhat students should know before starting SAT, ACT prep.]
Individual questions on the PreACT will be comparable in content, format and difficulty to questions on the ACT. The primary differences between the two exams will be the number of questions and the test length.
3. Take a balanced approach: With time always at a premium, it can be difficult to determine how many hours to spend on PreACT test prep. Sadly, there is no simple answer to this question.
On the one hand, since the PreACT has no direct implications on college admissions or scholarships, you might be tempted to take the exam without reviewing it first. On the other hand, you might be tempted to neglect other parts of your life to study.
Both approaches obscure the exam’s diagnostic purpose. You want to do your best such that the results give you an accurate idea of where you should focus when preparing for the ACT. However, do not allow your schoolwork to suffer because you are overpreparing for the test.
4. Remember your test results may vary: Keep in mind that the PreACT is very new. Its intent is to provide a diagnostic tool that can help students prepare for the full ACT.
However, there isn’t data yet that demonstrates whether students who do well on the PreACT will perform equally well on the ACT. This matters because a high PreACT score may lull you into a false sense of security regarding the much more consequential ACT.
You may find the greater length of the full exam exhausting, or you may receive a series of questions that perfectly match topics you studied extensively. In short, study for the ACT regardless of how well you score on the PreACT.
[Learn how tochoose between taking the ACT and SAT.]
Conversely, a poor result on the PreACT does not guarantee a poor result on the ACT. If you do not perform as well as you had hoped to on the PreACT, take it as a call to action, rather than a forecast of doom.
When you take the ACT — or its rival, the SAT — you will have had six to 12 months of additional studying and learning. If you suffer from test anxiety, you will have ample opportunity to find potential solutions to overcome your challenges with standardized tests.
Remember that the PreACT is another potentially useful tool when readying for college. Take it seriously — but stay balanced.
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4 Ways Students Can Prepare for a Valuable PreACT Experience originally appeared on usnews.com
