Abby had every reason to expect a 30. She’d been scoring in the 30s on practice tests at home. Then she took her first official ACT in June and got a 26, with English at 27, Reading at 25 and Math at 25.
Her mom, Emily, brought that gap to our first conversation, and the explanation turned out to be in the practice tests themselves.
Why the practice scores didn’t hold
The practice tests Abby had been using were older versions of the ACT, which are shorter and easier than the test she was actually going to take. She’d also been doing them one section at a time at home, so she’d never felt the timing of a full test. Her tutoring sessions had gone over the questions she got wrong, which fixed those particular questions but didn’t prepare her for new ones.
When she took our diagnostic, a full-length practice ACT every student starts with, she scored a 30, with a 35 in Reading. She clearly had the ability, so the work was about making her practice look like the real test.
Eight weeks
Abby is a junior and a three-sport athlete. Notre Dame is her top choice, and her goal is a 34. She enrolled in late July and worked with her coach, Malavika.
They started with Math, the section she felt least confident in. She knew most of the material, but she slowed down and second-guessed herself on the last eight to ten questions, so that’s where the work went. Her practice moved to full sections under real timing, and her daily assignments came in short blocks she could fit around practices and games. In the last week before the test, she spent her time on English and Math, her two weaker sections.
September
Abby scored a 32. Her English went from a 27 to a 34, her Reading from a 25 to a 33, and her Math from a 25 to a 28. Every section went up, and her composite rose six points on her first test with us.
She’s taking the October test to go after the 34.
"I am so happy for her. She has worked so hard. Thank you so much for a solid plan! Maybe a couple more points in Oct!!"
— Emily, Mom
What we did differently
- Moved her practice onto the current version of the ACT, which is harder than the older tests she'd been scoring in the 30s on.
- Had her take full sections under real test timing, so the clock on test day wasn't new.
- Started with Math, her least confident section, and worked on speed and confidence on its last questions.
- Kept the daily work in short blocks she could fit around three sports.
Coached by
Malavika
Every Boosted Brains coach has a perfect or near-perfect ACT score and has been personally trained by Carson Weekley (perfect 36) and Martin (Head of Student Success).