Students sometimes ask me how much they can expect to improve, or how much more room I think they have to grow. I always push back a bit on this question because, in truth, those quantities are impossible to define. In my experience, how much any one student improves is much more about consistency, commitment, and confidence than any “inherent” ability. I have never had a student who I felt had no more room to improve! It’s more a matter of balancing how much effort you want to continue to put in and how happy you are with your score.
Whether you’re learning and trying to apply new topics for the first time or focusing on minimizing silly mistakes to hone in on those last few points, patience is key. The ACT is a marathon, and to prepare yourself for it you need consistent practice over time. To go along with the cliche marathon metaphor: if you were training for a marathon, you would build up to increasingly difficult runs over time, while also giving yourself plenty of rest and recovery time in between. If you tried to train by running a marathon every day for a week, you would be broken and trapped in bed after a couple of days. If you took a (maybe very necessary!) month off of training, you wouldn’t expect yourself to be the same when you returned. All of these things apply to your test prep process. Essentially, it’s important to have patience! To give yourself the time and space to improve without feeling the pressure of unrealistic expectations, and to trust that consistency will pay off in the long term.
This brings us to commitment, which can be difficult to control. I would venture to guess that most students are not especially intrinsically thrilled to take the ACT. After all, it only really matters in so far as it can help you get into college (which, of course, matters to an extent). But if you want to fully harness your ability, it will take commitment of both your mind and your time. If you have a completely packed schedule and no time to sleep, maybe the ACT isn’t going to be your #1 priority. Some students manage their time by starting to prep during the off season of a sport or during the summer, when they have more time to actually focus. Alternatively, if you do your homework while kind of halfway paying attention because you don’t really care, then you’re not really getting at the purpose of exercise. The more you are able to give your process the attention it needs, the more you will feel empowered to grow and learn.
Lastly, we have confidence. This is rarely the first thing that comes to mind when studying for the ACT, but I find it to be one of the most significant factors for many of my students. If you don’t expect yourself to do well and to be able to learn, you will be much more limited in your ability to apply all of the information that you actually have! This is why it’s important to have realistic expectations for the pace of your progress and recognize all of your successes along the way, even if there’s still a distance to go. If you can let go of any limiting self-concepts about your ability, you will be much more free to apply yourself without being laden with anxiety. I know this is much easier said than done, but it’s a worthy goal!
So the next time you’re searching for a number of points to improve your score by, I would suggest your turn your attention back towards your process. Are you engaging with consistency, commitment, and confidence? If you invest your energy into improving these areas, you will start working to the best of your ability, which is the most you can ask of yourself.