LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The ACT and SAT exams are tests that high school students might get a bit nervous about.
The new school year began for many the week of August 14— and the first ACT and SAT exams are already less than a month away on September 9.
According to test prep experts, preparation begins early for many.
Young minds can already be found hard at work prepping for the ACT and SAT at both Huntington Learning Center and Academic Advantage.
"We either give the student a practice test, or we'll look at their existing test scores and we'll write a customized plan to address the areas of the test where they need to see growth, making sure that all of our students are ready for the test,” described David White, CEO at Academic Advantage.
As the first tests of the school year inch closer, numbers at Huntington Learning Center have been increasing.
"Most of our students are targeting the September 9 test, and then there's another one in October. So at this point in time, we're constantly enrolling students," said LeAnna Kelpine, Director at Huntington Learning Center.
The ACT and SAT generally cover the same topics— measuring what a student already knows.
“These are not tests of a student's intelligence,” White said. “They are tests of a student's knowledge of specific academic skills.”
He added that there's one exam in particular that Arkansas students typically focus on.
"The ACT is usually the most common test taken in Arkansas,” White explained. That's due in large part to the fact that that's also the test that's administered in our Arkansas public schools."
A student can put all their eggs into one basket, but it's up to them on which exam they want to focus their energy on.
“The students enrolled that are taking the SAT, many of those are wanting to attend a college in the Northeast [or] Northwest that requires an SAT,” Kelpine said.
She added that the main purpose of these exams, and a student prepping for them, is to get a good score for college admissions.
“Some of them need to increase their scores enough to basically not take remedial classes in college, others are targeting the perfect score,” Kelpine explained.
White targets at least a four-point gain from the start of prep, but has seen up to 10 points! He said there is a sweet spot that leads to less burden for college tuition.
“Targeting a 32 on your ACT, because that will get you the Governor's Distinguished Scholarship,” he said.
The big question is, how can students achieve success— and the answer is prep.
“Practice tests are probably one of the most essential things that a person can do to get ready for the ACT or SAT,” White said.
The tips and tricks for doing well, on top of practice exams, are all about the foundation.
White advised students to get comfortable with their calculators and learn math formulas, especially since they aren’t provided on the exams.
Also, students should remember grammar rules. Both White and Kelpine agreed that being an avid reader before high school can get a student far.
“You can't decide this week that you're going to go run a marathon next week, you've got to start getting ready for that well in advance,” White said. “If parents will work with their students, and really begin even in sixth and seventh grade, laying those foundations and helping them develop those fundamental reading skills, the payoff can be incredible by the time they get to the test.”
Kelpine echoed this sentiment.
“It's not just about rate or fluency, it's about comprehension,” Kelpine said.
She added that a tip and trick for the day of the exam includes getting the brain active as soon as possible.
“Get there early, read something, work a math problem get your brain functioning,” she said.
This is because White said the test is both physically and mentally taxing.
“There are described few times in a child's education that we say sit down and take a test for four hours,” he said. “That's hard on your body that's hard on your attention span.”
At the end of the day, a good score comes with practice.
“All they have to do is be willing to take the time and to put forth the effort,” White said.
Both Academic Advantage and Huntington Learning Center have options for families who are interested in learning about the cost of their students preparing for the ACT or SAT.