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Taking a college admissions test like the ACT is a rite of passage from high school to college. Even in the wake of COVID and the test-optional wave that accompanied it, ACT scores are still important to secure favorable admissions and scholarship decisions. For the most part, the college admissions world has returned to the pre-COVID era where strong test scores on the ACT or SAT set applicants up for success.

Effective preparation helps students earn scores that set them apart from the pool of other applicants. For this post, we'll focus specifically on the ACT as it's the most popular test in states in the central part of the U.S. (Students on the coasts primarily take the SAT.)

Here is a five-step plan for raising ACT scores. It's best to follow these steps in order.

1. Take advanced courses in high school, beginning in the freshman year.

Research from ACT has shown that taking advanced courses is the single best way to build a solid foundation for success on the test. Honors, dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses better prepare students for the kinds of questions they will see on a college admissions test. Further, the skills honed in advanced courses match the skills needed to ace the ACT.

Based on recent enrollment numbers, students and parents seem to get the message. Dual enrollment courses are especially popular, with over 2.5 million students taking such a course during the 2022-2023 school year, according to a recent report by Education Week.

That same report stated that 90 percent of all public high schools now offer some form of dual enrollment opportunities. In addition, the College Board, who administers the AP tests along with the SAT, reported that in the class of 2023, 1.4 million students took an AP exam.

Students should seriously consider signing up for courses that will challenge them academically. A better ACT score is only one of the many benefits.

2. Engage in some form of high-quality ACT prep.

There are lots of good options for test prep, both paid and free. Modes of prep can range from individual approaches (like working alone through the "Big Red Book" published by ACT) to small-group workshops. Also, options range from online prep (YouTube videos are popular) to in-person prep with a friend, teacher, or trained tutor.

The ACT has unique characteristics, so make sure the prep is specifically designed for that test. Strategies that work well on the SAT, for example, don't always translate to the ACT. Also, some prep books cover only general math and grammar concepts that might be outside the scope of what's covered on the ACT. Sadly, students have to do their homework when selecting prep resources before doing the real homework of test preparation.

3. Take ACT tests (both practice and real) to determine which questions you got wrong.

Practice ACT tests are easy to find online. Again, stick with reputable sites, most notably ACT's own site. If you plan to take a paper version of the test, practice with paper versions. If online, then practice online. For designated national ACT test administrations, students can pay an extra fee to get their answers back. This service is called Test Information Release (although a name change is coming soon), and it's worth the money.

The point of this step is to identify exactly which questions the student is missing, which leads to the next step...

4. Do whatever it takes to learn how to get those missed questions right.

Students need to shore up their testing weaknesses by examining each missed question and learning how to get a similar question right on a future test. This might be as simple as asking a really smart friend or working with a teacher after school. Other times, this may mean the student needs a paid tutor. Just as with step two, make sure the tutor is experienced with the ACT in particular.

5. Repeat steps three and four until you reach your goal score.

Now comes the grind. Students must continue going through the cycle of practice-learn-practice-learn until the number of missed questions shrinks to an acceptable level that yields the goal score. For some students, this may happen after just a handful of tests. For other students, it might take dozens of tests.

This critical step is where the resolve and determination of the student is tested as much as anything else. An apt mantra sums it all up: "Don't wish for it. Work for it."

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MORE INFO:

Union's Ben Phillips serves as agency director for Jane Ross Tutoring, which provides private tutoring and workshops for students preparing for college admissions tests.

DID YOU KNOW?

Union administers multiple ACT tests every year for students in Jackson and West Tennessee.