A few days before her daughter’s ACT this past spring, a mom reached out to schedule some individual sessions. The student had just finished my group ACT workshop, and with the test so close, we agreed on two one-hour sessions focused on math.
I showed up with a stack of books and resources, ready to target the areas the student needed most. But she had a different idea. She wanted to go back through the math questions she’d missed on the practice test from the workshop.
I understood why. It felt like the responsible thing to do. But it’s one of the most common mistakes I see students make.
One look isn’t enough
She had missed a slope question. Reviewing that one question would show her how to solve it once. But being familiar with a question is very different from being able to recall how to solve it from memory on test day, under pressure. That takes repetition after repetition.
She was also worried about covering all the content, including topics that would have taken hours to master. Especially with only a few days left, what would have helped her more was choosing a few key concepts and practicing them until she could consistently do them on her own.
One topic, many questions
A practice test might include one or two questions on a topic. But test makers can take a single topic and ask about it in many different ways. With slope alone, a student might be asked to:
Find the slope between two points
Find the slope from an equation, like 3x + 2y = 6
Find the slope of a line perpendicular to another line
Explain what the slope means in a real-world situation
Read the slope from a table or graph
Same topic, five different skills. A student who has only seen one version can easily be caught off guard by the others.
What works better
A practice test is the starting point, not the plan. That’s especially true for high achievers, who may miss only a handful of questions. When every point counts, each miss deserves a closer look and enough practice to lock it in.
Find the real reason behind each miss. A content gap and a timing problem need different fixes.
Focus where it counts. We spend prep time on the questions that will move the score most, not on what’s already working.
Check progress and adjust. A follow-up test shows what’s improved, and the plan shifts from there.
The result is a student who makes the most of their prep time and walks into test day certain of what they can do.
Where practice tests really shine
Practice tests are still valuable in several important ways. They mix question types together, just like the real test, so students have to recognize what each question is asking and decide how to approach it. But that only helps if they’ve already practiced those question types. Knowing what a question is asking isn’t the same as knowing how to solve it.
Practice tests are also the best way to work on timing and simulate test day. To get the most out of one, have your student take it in the allotted time, in a quiet space, in one sitting, with full focus. Treat it like the real thing, and it will give you real information.
The bottom line
More practice tests won’t necessarily lead to a higher score. Smarter practice will. Use a practice test as feedback, not a verdict, then let that feedback guide where your student spends their time.
If you’d like help figuring out what your student’s practice or official test results are really telling you, I’d love to talk. You can book a free 20-minute strategy call anytime.
Angie
