For many Michigan high school students, a five point jump on the ACT is the primary hurdle standing between them and their dream university. Whether you are aiming for the competitive atmosphere of Ann Arbor or looking for significant merit based scholarships at Michigan State, your composite score is a heavy hitter in the admissions process.
The good news is that the ACT is a standardized test. This means it is predictable. By shifting your focus from “knowing more math” to “knowing how to take the test,” you can see a dramatic increase in your results. Here are five deep dive strategies to help your student achieve that 5 point leap.
1. Master the Triage Method for Time Management
The ACT is famous for being a “speed test.” Most students fail to finish the Science or Reading sections because they treat every question with equal importance. To see a score jump, you must abandon the idea of working through the test in chronological order.
Think of the test like a medical professional in an emergency room. You have to triage the questions. Categorize every problem into three buckets. First, the “Now” questions. These are the ones you can solve in under 30 seconds. Do these immediately to bank points.
Second are the “Later” questions. These are problems you know how to solve, but you know they will take two minutes of heavy lifting. Circle the number and come back once the easy points are secured. Finally, identify the “Never” questions. If you see a complex geometry problem involving a concept you never learned, do not waste four minutes on it. Pick a “Letter of the Day” such as B or G, fill it in, and move on. This ensures you never run out of time for the easy questions at the end of a section.
2. Leverage the Power of Conciseness in the English Section
The English section is often the fastest way to pull up a composite score. Many students overthink these questions by trying to make the sentences sound more “sophisticated” or formal. However, the ACT has a very specific preference for brevity.
A golden rule for this section is that if two or three answers are grammatically correct, the shortest answer is almost always the right one. The test makers are looking for clear, direct communication. They hate redundancy. For example, if an answer choice says “The yearly annual meeting,” and another choice says “The annual meeting,” the second option is correct because “yearly” and “annual” mean the same thing. Train your student to look for the most “economical” way to say something.
3. Mimic the Testing Environment to Build Stamina
You would not run a marathon without training at full distance, yet many students go into the ACT having only done 20 minute practice bursts. The ACT is a four hour marathon of focus. Mental fatigue is usually what causes scores to dip in the final sections.
To fix this, your student needs at least three full length practice exams taken in a “proctored” style. This means no cell phones, no music, and strict adherence to the actual breaks provided by the ACT. Taking a test at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning at the kitchen table is much different than doing a few math problems after school. This builds the “test prep muscle” and reduces anxiety on the actual day because the experience feels familiar.
4. Treat the Science Section Like an Open Book Search
The biggest mistake students make on the ACT Science section is trying to actually learn the science. They spend precious minutes reading about the molecular structure of a specific gas or the history of a tectonic plate.
In reality, the Science section is a scavenger hunt. It tests your ability to read graphs, tables, and charts. The strategy here is to skip the introductory text entirely. Go straight to the first question. It will usually say something like “In Figure 2, as the temperature increased, what happened to the pressure?”
At that point, the student should go only to Figure 2, find the data point, and select the answer. You do not need a background in physics or biology to get a 36 on this section. You just need to be a fast “data hunter.”
5. Use Backsolving to Bypass Complex Algebra
The Math section is the only part of the ACT where the correct answer is guaranteed to be right in front of you. If your student is struggling to set up a complex algebraic equation, they should stop trying to be a mathematician and start being a detective.
This is called “Backsolving.” Most ACT math questions provide five numerical options, usually listed in ascending or descending order. Instead of solving for X, take the middle value (Choice C or H) and plug it into the problem. If that number makes the equation work, you are finished. If the result is too high, you have already eliminated three of the five choices. This turns a high level algebra problem into basic addition or multiplication, which is much harder to mess up under pressure.
Take the Next Step Toward Your Goal Score
Strategies are the foundation, but consistency is what builds a high score. At College Tutors Michigan, we specialize in helping students identify their specific “bottlenecks” and providing the one on one attention needed to overcome them. Whether your student needs to master foundational math or refine their test taking speed, we are here to help Michigan families navigate the path to college success.