When you entered the 2019-2020 academic school year, you were probably told that Junior year is the toughest year in high school. You might have signed up for quite a few AP classes to get college credit, taken the PSAT through your school, expected more rigorous school curriculum than anything you had experienced before, and started preparing for the ACT (or SAT) that you knew was coming your way. The first semester, though challenging, may have lived up to what you had expected.
I am certain, though, that you did not expect to do most of your school work at home for the majority of your spring semester. That was surely a surprise. Traditionally, it’s about this time in the spring that we start to think about taking an SAT or ACT in order to work towards the scores we want to help us get into the school of our choice. However, the coronavirus has severely affected the regular schedule of things this year and there is much uncertainty. Each spring test has been cancelled and the ACT June 13th test is hanging by a thread. There has been talk from the ACT Inc and College Board to have a test each month starting in August to make up for these missed dates. There is a possibility these tests may be taken at home and on-line instead of at schools. This “new normal” can understandably contribute to an overwhelming sense of anxiety and make us feel powerless.
Well, this is simply not true and does not have to be true. Shakespeare wrote King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra during a plague. Isaac Newton invented calculus, began to develop his theory of gravity, and considered the years of 1665-1667 as the most intellectually productive of his life even those these years took place during the worst outbreak of the bubonic plague. I bring up these examples not to make you feel that you need to live up to these historical figures, but rather to say that in between our moments of anxiety and despair we can do quite a bit to remain productive even though our collective moment may feel paralyzingly difficult. Studying for the ACT is a good place to start taking back our lives. Not sure which test to take? Check out our ACT versus SAT post here. If you are planning to take the SAT, you can check out our post on how to prepare here!)
There are four sections on the ACT: English, Math, Reading and Science. English tests your knowledge of grammar rules. Math tests our knowledge of pre-algebra all the way to trigonometry. Reading tests our comprehension of one-page stories or articles. Science tests our ability to interpret data from charts, graphs, and tables.
English can feel difficult at first as many of us have not really reviewed grammar since elementary school. This is unfortunate because when we are in third grade as students, we do not really pay much attention. We want to go to recess or play video games. We technically learn grammar early, but by the time we reach high school, we have largely forgotten the ins- and outs- of it. Now that you are a junior, it is a good time to review your punctuation, such as when should we use a comma, semi-colon, or colon. You can find these rules at Purdue’s Online Writing Lab. Once you review these rules, I have found English to be the quickest to improve for a large majority of students.
Keep working hard in your math classes no matter what year you are in school (or where you are taking your math lessons). If you are not understanding something or feel like you have forgotten some of the foundations, talk with your current teacher. I would also recommend signing up for Khan Academy to test your math knowledge. The math problems there are similar to the math problems you will find in the ACT.
Regarding reading comprehension, I would recommend reading at least 30 minutes a day. Read the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the LA Times, and 19th and 20th Century literature if you are really ambitious (many of these subscription-based papers are 
currently offering free student subscriptions). Every student I have taught that has gotten over 32 on the ACT makes a habit of reading. Reading also helps with science. If you are reading these news articles (particularly science articles), you will often notice that the journalist or scientist will include a graph or chart to help explain the subject of the article. If there is a graph in article, use your math skills and identify your x-axis and y-axis. Observe what the data measures and how it is changing. The most famous example currently is the “flattening the curve” graph used to understand our national goal of reducing the spread of the coronavirus.
Finally, there are five practice tests that the ACT has made from previous tests that you can use for study. I would start with these tests, practicing the really thing, before you move to Princeton, Barron’s, or Kaplan books. These tests will be the closest to the actual ACT as they are made by the same company that administers the ACT. The other companies make their own tests, which is not ideal for your success.
My final recommendation is that after you have explored all of these thoughts to some degree, you should take some time to consider why college is important to you and to determine your goals in life. There’s nothing like a life changing event beyond our control that makes us contemplate our place in this world and how we can best make the use of our life. Your journey with the ACT can help you on this journey of learning about yourself, how you learn, and how best you manage stress.
Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher, said, “To know others is wisdom; To know one’s self is enlightenment. To conquer others is power; To conquer one’s self is true power (strength). To truly conquer yourself no matter what life throws at you is a lifelong struggle, and it is never ending.” I recommend you starting your self examination while you are a young adult. In fact, this line of thinking mirrors the college application process itself, from finding the right college fit to writing your personal statement. You will be happier with your growth as a person and enjoy a far richer life than if you don’t start until your 30s.
No matter how you approach preparing for the exams, no matter what you decide about yourself and your future goals, I want you to know I am proud of you for taking the time to read this post and thinking about these big questions. These are unprecedented times; feeling lost or confused is appropriate. But you’ll find if you start working towards your own goals (maybe it won’t be writing a Shakespearian trilogy, but something important to you), you will start to feel the power coming back.
