Many parents and students come to us with questions about how best to use extra time over the summer to make headway in terms of preparation for the SAT or ACT.
This sort of forethought can really benefit students. Taking advantage of the portions of the year when they aren't slammed with school commitments can be a significant boon as they strive to maximize their standardized test scores.
With that being said, we still want students to have time to relax and release some of the stress from the school year; after all, test scores are only one part of a larger college application, which is only one part of a much larger life.
In this post, we’ll go over one thing that high school students of each year can do over the summer to improve their readiness for the ACT/SAT while still leaving time to sleep in.
Let’s get started.
Rising 9th Grader: Nothing
That’s right: literally nothing. Students of this age haven’t even learned most of the material tested on the SAT/ACT in school yet. Rather than worrying about standardized tests, they should be relaxing, enjoying being done with middle school, and spending time with family and friends. There will be plenty of time to think about testing in the future.
Rising 10th Grader: Read, Read, Read
At this point, students are still a bit too young for SAT- or ACT-specific prep to be efficient. Both tests contain math concepts that aren’t taught until Algebra II, which high schoolers typically don’t take until 10th or 11th grade. Practicing standardized test questions before you’ve been taught the relevant content is a suboptimal use of time and prep materials, both of which are finite resources.
Instead, this is an ideal summer to focus on reading regularly. The SAT and ACT contain a significant number of questions that test reading comprehension skills and vocabulary knowledge; both of those are extremely difficult to improve significantly in a short period of time, even with dedicated test prep.
Fortunately, students can improve in both areas over the long term by reading. It doesn’t even especially matter what they read, as long as it’s somewhat challenging. Fiction or non-fiction, school reading list, New York Times bestseller, or beach read—it’s all fair game.
For bonus points, the overachievers can build a vocabulary list as they read by creating a flashcard for each unknown word they encounter, along with its definition and an example sentence. Even if a student doesn’t have the wherewithal to do that, however, the reading itself will still be beneficial.
RELATED READING: A Plan for Extracurricular Activities for Every Year of High School
Rising 11th Grader: Decide Between the ACT and SAT
As students approach 11th grade, it’s time for them to start thinking about preparing for either the SAT or the ACT. Most students begin prepping at some point in their junior year; how early they start typically depends on which semester will be busier and/or more challenging for them in school, as well as how ambitious their score goals are.
Before the actual prep process begins, however, it’s important for a student to determine which test is likely to be a better option for them. The easiest way to accomplish this is simply to obtain practice scores for both the SAT and the ACT and then compare them.
Fortunately, most high schools require students to take either the PSAT or the PreACT in 10th grade, and scores on each of those tests can be used as a proxy to predict performance on the corresponding “parent” test. So, if a student earned a 27 on a recent PreACT administration, they can assume that their score on the actual ACT would be roughly a 27 as well.
Many schools do not provide students with the opportunity to take both the PreACT and the PSAT. In order to get a sense of where they stand, students will likely need to take a practice test for the ACT, SAT, or both. Free practice tests can be found on both the College Board’s website and ACT.org.
With practice scores in hand, the next step is using them to decide between the two tests—and there are good resources out there to help you and your student make that call.
Rising 12th Grader: Prepare for the Final Attempt(s) at the Test
By the summer prior to senior year, students should ideally have already taken the ACT or SAT at least once. They’re likely to have other college-related commitments on their plates during the summer months—tours, essays, and apps, oh my. But it’s important to remember that they still have plenty of opportunity to bolster their test scores.
Both the SAT and the ACT offer multiple test administrations over the summer: the ACT is typically in June, July, and September, while the SAT is typically in June, August, and September. With Early Action and Early Decision deadlines for colleges generally falling in October or November, students can sit for any or all of those tests and still receive scores in time for the earliest application deadlines.
Given the other demands on their time during these months, it’s a good idea for students to make a plan at the beginning of the summer as to which test date(s) they want to target. They should allow time before each test to review any troublesome content areas and get in a few more reps with timed practice sections. By plotting out a calendar ahead of time, they can maximize their chances of improving their scores without letting the test take over the entire summer break.
READ MORE: 5 Things Every Family Should Know Before Starting Test Prep
It’s very possible for students to move the needle on their level of readiness for the SAT/ACT without spending hours every day studying. This outline will provide your student with manageable ways to make progress while still leaving plenty of time to relax. By starting to think about these tests early (but not too early) in their high school career—and by taking full advantage of the less stressful periods of the year—students can make the ACT and SAT feel much less scary and much more conquerable.
