ACT/College Preparation

ACT/College Preparation is a semester-long course designed to prepare students for the ACT and other college and career readiness assessments. The course focuses on strengthening academic skills in English, Math, Reading, and Science while equipping students with effective test-taking strategies, confidence-building techniques, and personalized preparation plans. Students engage in practice testing, item analysis, targeted skill development, and reflective goal-setting to improve performance. Emphasis is placed on identifying individual strengths and weaknesses and creating an actionable test-day plan that supports success. In some buildings, students may also prepare for the TABE assessment. Instruction is differentiated to ensure students receive focused preparation aligned to the assessment they will take.

Course Goals

• Develop familiarity with the structure and expectations of the ACT
• Identify patterns and commonly tested skills across subject areas
• Analyze baseline and practice test results to set measurable goals
• Strengthen core academic skills assessed on standardized tests
• Apply strategic approaches to improve pacing and accuracy
• Reduce test anxiety through preparation and confidence-building strategies
• Create a personalized test-day success plan (sleep, nutrition, materials, pacing, and strategies)
• Demonstrate measurable growth between baseline and final assessments

Instructional Structure - 

While pacing may vary slightly by building, the course generally follows a structured progression:

• Full-length practice ACT (baseline)
• Item analysis and individual goal setting
• Overview of ACT sections and scoring
• Testing success skills and general strategies
• Strategies for managing time and reducing test anxiety

English - 

Instruction focuses on skills directly assessed on the ACT English test

• Production of Writing

  • Topic development
  • Organization and logical flow

• Knowledge of Language

  • Precision and concision
  • Word choice and clarity

• Conventions of Standard English

  • Grammar
  • Punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons)
  • Sentence structure

Students practice:

• Editing passages
• Completing timed drills
• Analyzing errors
• Developing individualized study plans.

Math

Instruction targets essential math domains assessed on the ACT:

• Number and Quantity
• Algebra
• Functions
• Geometry
• Statistics and Probability
• Rates and percentages
• Averages (mean, median)
• Proportional relationships
• Problem-solving and multi-step story problems

Students will:

• Review prerequisite skills
• Practice timed problem sets
• Analyze solution strategies
• Focus on areas of remediation as needed.

Reading - 

Students build reading endurance, comprehension, and analytical skills through:

• Determining word and phrase meanings
• Analyzing author’s purpose and perspective
• Evaluating rhetorical devices and text structure
• Analyzing character and point of view
• Differentiating between perspectives and sources
• Evaluating reasoning and evidence
• Distinguishing fact from opinion
   

Instruction includes 

• Speed drills
• Passage analysis
• Strategy development for improving comprehension under timed conditions.

Science

Science preparation emphasizes data interpretation and analytical reasoning skills, including:

• Interpretation of data presented in tables, graphs, and diagrams
• Understanding experimental design and procedures
• Analyzing scientific investigations
• Evaluating models, inferences, and experimental results
• Interpreting research summaries
• Analyzing conflicting viewpoints

Students practice 

• Reading scientific passages efficiently
• Extracting relevant data to answer questions accurately.

Writing (Optional ACT Writing Preparation)

Where applicable, students:

• Analyze ACT Writing prompts
• Practice planning and drafting timed essays
• Review scoring rubrics
• Complete sample writing responses

Ongoing Instructional Practices

Throughout the semester, students engage in:

• Timed practice drills
• Cooperative learning and discussion
• Reflection and progress monitoring
• Development of personalized study plans
• Review of previously taught content
• Strategy reinforcement across all content areas
   

Students will:

• Analyze practice assessments to identify growth and refine preparation strategies.

Culminating Assessment & Reflection

• Full-length ACT practice test (final)
• Growth analysis comparing baseline and final scores
• Identification of continued areas for improvement
• Completion of individualized test preparation plans

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will:

• Demonstrate improved performance on ACT-style assessments
• Show measurable growth between baseline and final practice tests
• Apply effective pacing and test-taking strategies
• Exhibit increased confidence and reduced test anxiety
• Be equipped with a structured, personalized approach to test preparation