Summer break may be on the horizon, but don’t forget that the standardized tests are, too!
Whether you’re taking the SAT or ACT for the first, second or third time around, you still need to start preparing as early as possible.
Your summer break
is the perfect time to brush up on your testing skills. This, however, does not mean you need to sacrifice your summer break in the meantime!
There are test prep activities you can work on this summer while still enjoying the sunshine. Here are some simple test prep ideas that you can incorporate into your summertime beach days:
Read
Create a goal to read something every day, whether it’s a book or a newspaper. Reading will help with your reading comprehension; vocabulary as well as your writing skills.
If you’re unsure of what you should be reading, check out this
recommended reading list of books and magazines which can improve reading comprehension skills for the SAT and ACT – recommended by The College Board.
Additionally, having world events and literary references at your fingertips will inevitably aid in your fundamental skill set when composing essays!
The College Board provides some
reading section tips you can keep in mind while you’re reading on your own.
Math
Give yourself a goal to practice a certain number of math problems per week. Additionally, many students find that the difficulty lies in the phrasing of the math questions, rather than the math problem itself.
Most of the math on the SAT consists of percentiles, fractions, algebra and geometry. Review the math concepts covered on the
SAT and/or the
ACT, depending on which test(s) you plan on taking .
Familiarize yourself with actual math test prep questions so that the test language won’t fluster you when the test day arrives. The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll become.
There are even SAT math apps available on
iTunes and for
Android devices to help with math concepts.
You can find ACT apps and guides, too. Download your own set of
ACT math flashcards to take along wherever you go this summer.
Flash Cards
Flash cards are easy to bring along in a purse, backpack or beach bag. You can create your own, print some out or even download some on your phone or tablet through an SAT app on
iTunes or for
Android devices.
Officially, the ACT has online
test prep resources available for students and they also allow you to take
some sample test questions free of charge, but you'll have to purchase unlimited access. There are plenty of free alternative apps for ACT prep, which you can find with a basic Google search. For example, try
StudyStack.
Question of the Day
There’s an official app, called
The Official SAT Question of the Day, by The College Board, which is available for free on iTunes. Unofficially, you can find it for
Android devices, too.
The ACT also has a
"Question of the Day" available on their web site or you can follow @actstudent on Twitter or “like” them on Facebook to find the
"Question of the Day" via social media posts.
