1. ACT EXAM Advisory 207 Ms. Sophia Papaefthimiou

2. ACT exam  ACT stands for American College Test  It is a standardized test you take as a Junior  It is given five times a year: in October, December, February, April, and June

3. Overview of exam TESTNUMBER OF QUESTIONSLENGTH English 7545 Minutes Mathematics 6060 Minutes Reading 4035 Minutes Science Reasoning 4035 Minutes

4. English Usage and Mechanics: Grammar, Punctuation, Sentence Structure 40 Q Rhetorical Skills: Writing Strategy, Organization, Style 35 Q Tests your knowledge of the grammatical structures of English and your ability to punctuate and write structured sentences. Determines if you know whether some writing is organized and has consistent style. Generally, five prose passage of about 300 words are given. You are asked to decide whether the underlined sections in the paragraph are correct, and, if not which of the provided alternative choices is the solution. Items can contain errors in punctuation, sentence structure or an aspect of grammar and usage. Specifics of Exam

5. Mathematics Pre-Algebra and Elementary Algebra24 Q Intermediate Algebra and Coordinate Geometry 18 Q Plane Geometry14 Q Trigonometry 4 Q

6. Reading Prose Fiction: novels, short stories10 Q Humanities: art, music, dance, architecture, theater, history10 Q Social Sciences: sociology, psychology, economics, political science, government, anthropology 10 Q Natural Sciences: biology, chemistry, physics, ecology, earth science 10 Q Many of the passages are taken from books, articles, and other publications. To answer a majority of the questions you will need to draw inferences from passages, perceived implications, distinguish the author's intent, separate fact from opinion, etc. Specifics of Exam

7. Science Data Representation: graphs, tables, other schematics15 Q Research Summaries: several related experiments18 Q Conflicting Viewpoints: alternative interpretations of scientific matters 7 Q Information for this section comes from biology, chemistry, physics, and the physical sciences. Three of the seven sets of data are presented as graphs, charts, tables, or scientific drawings. The other three are summaries of research, and the seventh is a discussion of a controversial issue. Some mathematics may be necessary to answer some of the questions. Specifics of Exam

8. Facts - scores  Highest possible score is 36  The national average ACT composite score for 2008? 21.1  Illinois average ACT composite score for 2008: 20.7  Infinity average ACT composite score for 2008: 16.1 ACT averages for the following Universities: UIC: 24 DePaul: 24 Loyola: 26 U of IL – Champaign: 28 U of M: 29 Harvard: 31

9. Retakes  ACT research shows that of the students who took the ACT more than once: 55% increased their composite score on the retest 22% had no change in their composite score on the retest 23% decreased their composite score on the retest

10. Resources at Infinity  Mr. Venegas has an ACT colloquium  ACT books available for check out at library  Practice ACT exams during school  Counselors - Mr. Salinas and Ms. Regina  Test prep (Kaplan, Princeton Review) courses  ACT style questions incorporated during class  ACT practice questions in advisories

11. FAQ’s For more information go to:  http://www.act.org/news/aapfacts.html http://www.act.org/news/aapfacts.html  http://www.edonline.com/collegecompass/actbgd.htm