ACT I - BACKGROUND

ACT OVERVIEW

ACT stands for American College Test, which is a stan dardized test administered by the American College Testing Program. The ACT covers more or less the same ground as the SAT, but with some important differences. Unlike the SAT, the ACT is curriculum based, with its test areas English Usage, Mathematics Usage, Reading Usage and Science Usage. It is geared to cover the principal areas of the high school and first year college curriculum.

Although most schools and the most competitive ones require the SAT, about as many individual students take the ACT nationally as take the SAT. Many southern and midwestern schools require the ACT, which is the dominant program in twenty-eight states. Some schools will accept either the SAT or the ACT.

The ACT includes some unique features that are not part of the actual test, but which are used to help high schools and colleges in assessing students' needs. The ACT's Interest Inventory, for example, includes some ninety questions on student interests. This information is also helpful to students, who receive information showing them how their interests compare with those of other stu dents nationwide. The ACT service also sends students in formation relating their interests to possible careers and college majors.

The ACT Student Profile indicates what extracurricu lar interests students have, what they have done outside of class, what majors and careers they are considering, and what services and programs they expect from their school. Colleges can use information from both the Inventor?, and the Student Profile to place students in appropriate courses. anticipate potential problems. help students find extracurricular activities that might be of interest to them, and generally gear their advisers to provide the best possible individual assistance. It is important to re member, however, that neither the Interest Inventory nor the Student Profile is actually part of the test itself. There are no right and wrong answers. These assessments are used only to provide additional information that might be of interest to high schools, colleges, and students them selves. The ACT takes two hours and 55 minutes to complete, and is divided as follows:

Performance on the ACT is a crucial concern of Colleges. Since the ACT is taken by students all over the country, colleges use the scores to as a comparison means of the students abilities and the potential success in college courses.

PARTS of the ACT

The English Usage Test (75 questions, 40 minutes) . This section stresses the mechanics of English. It exam ines a student's ability to recognize and correct common errors in standard English.

English Usage Test

Usage and Mechanics:Basic Grammar and Punctuation, Sentence Sturcture	40 Questions
Rhetorical Skills: Writing Strategy, Organization, Style	35 Questions


Your performance on the English Test tells the college that you are familiar with the grammatical structures of English and you have the ability to punctuate and write structured sentences. It also determines if you know whether some writing is organized and has consistent style.

Generally, five prose passage of about 300 words are given. You are asked to decide whether the underlined sections in the paragraph are correct, and, if not which of the provided alternative choices is the solution. Items can contain errors in punctuation, sentence structure or an aspect of grammar and usage.

The Mathematics Usage Test (60 questions, 60 min utes) . This section examines mathematical reasoning abil ity based on geometry and two years of algebra.

Mathematics Usage Test

Pre-Algebra and Elementary Algebra	24 Questions
Intermediate Algebra and Coordinate Geometry	18 Questions
Plane Geometry	14 Questions
Trigonometry	4 Questions




The Reading Test (40 questions, 35 minutes) . This section measures your ability to understand materials similiar to those read in college courses. The test consists of four passages, each about 750 words, drawn from four different areas of knowledge:

Reading Usage Test

Prose Fiction: novels, short stories	10 Questions
Humanities: art, music, dance, architecture, theater, history	10 Questions
Social Sciences: sociology, psychology, economics, political sceince, government, anthropology	10 Questions
Natural Scienecs: biology, chemistry, physics, echology, earth sceince	10 Questions




Generally, you can expect these passages to be in order of reading difficulty: the first is easiest, the last hardest. The order of the different areas is not announced. Many of the passages are taken from books, articles, and other publications. Each question is followed by four choices. To answer a majority of the questions you will need to draw inferences from passages, perceived implications, distinquish the author's intent, separate fact from opinion, etc.

The Science Test (40 questions, 35 minutes) . This section measures your ability to think like a scientist. You must answer questions about seven sets of scientific information presented in three formats:

Science Reasoning Test

Data Representation:graphs, tables, other schematics	15 Questions
Research Summaries: several related experiments	18 Questions
Conflicting Viewpoints: alternative interpretations of scientific matters	7 Questions




Information for this section comes from biology, chemistry, physics, and the physical sciences. Three of the seven sets of data are presented as graphs, charts, tables, or scientific drawings. The other three are summaries of research, and the seventh is a discussion of a controversial issue. Some mathematics may be necessary to answer some of the questions.

When should I take the ACT?

The ACT is given five times a year: in October, De cember. February, April, and June. If you need ACT scores for the schools you are applying to, follow the same gen eral schedule as suggested for the SAT: take the test the first time in the spring of your junior year, with a possible follow-up in fall term senior year.

AS A JUNIOR
1. You will have an idea of where you stand. This will enable you to make more realistic college plans, but more importantly give you the preparation time to prepare to retake the test later. 2. You can apply to a college for an early decision. Deadlines for most early decision applications fall between October 15 and November 15. AS A SENIOR
1. Your scores will be higher due to more courses and more experience. 2. Disadvantage - You will have the opportunity to retake the ACT but with less preparation time between exam dates. 3. You will easily meet regular college application deadlines, which usually fall between January 1, and March 15 for September admissions.

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