ACT CERTIFICATE AND EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. What is ACT?

1.1. About the ACT certificate

ACT, stands for American College Testing, is a standardized test under the management of the non-profit organization of the same name – ACT. It is used to assess the learning ability of high school students, and is one of the conditions prerequisites for admission to top universities and colleges in the US. The exam was first administered in November 1959 by educator Everett Franklin Lindquist, to compete with the College Board’s SAT exam.

1.2. Structure of the ACT

ACT test consists of 5 sections:

• • English
  • Math
  • Reading
  • Science
  • Writing (optional)

ACT test lasts 2 hours 55 minutes, or 3 hours 35 minutes with the Essay section. Details of the order, duration and question type of each section are as follows:

• • English

• • • Duration: 45 minutes
    • Question types: 40 sentences about analysis and 35 sentences about rhetoric
    • The test is divided into 5 sub-sections, each sub-section has 15 questions, designed to assess the candidate’s understanding of sentence structure, grammar, rhetoric…

• • Math

• • • Duration: 60 minutes
    • Question types: 14 Pre-Algebra questions, 10 Elementary Algebra questions, 9 Intermediate Algebra questions, 9 Coordinate Geometry questions, 14 Plane Geometry questions, 4 Trigonometry questions
    • The test assesses knowledge, ability to explain, synthesize and apply mathematical concepts to solve the given questions

• • Reading

• • • Duration: 35 minutes
    • Question types: 10 Social Studies questions, 10 Natural Sciences questions, 10 Literary Narrative or Prose Fiction questions, 10 Humanities questions
    • The test assesses the ability to read carefully, reason logically, give specific examples and synthesize information from many sources

• • Science

• • • Duration: 35 minutes
    • Question types: 15 Date Representation questions, 18 Research Summary questions, 7 Conflicting Viewpoint questions
    • The section is designed to demonstrate students’ ability to analyze, evaluate, reason and solve problems for natural science subjects

• • Writing – optional

• • • Duration: 40 minutes
    • Question types: The question deals with a complex issue that requires students to express their opinion through an essay
    • Although the exam is not mandatory, students should still choose to take this exam because many universities around the world require an application essay

1.3. ACT score scale and scoring

Each section of the ACT, which includes English, Math, Reading, and Science, is scored on a scale of 1-36, with 36 being the top score.

To calculate the total score, candidates need to calculate the average of the 4 components, rounding up if the decimal is 0.5 or 0.75 or rounding down for 0.25.

For example, if the student scored 25 in English, 26 in Math, 27 in Science, and 29 in Reading, the total score would be (25+26+27+29)/4, which is 26.75, rounded up to 27 points.

See also: What international certificates are needed when studying abroad?

2. The importance of the ACT certificate

• • ACT, recognized by all colleges and universities in the US, is an affordable test used for college admissions, placement, and career guidance.
  • ACT allows candidates to take the written test if the candidate’s preferred college or university requires an application essay. Thus, candidates will be able to reduce the burden of doing extra essays outside of the entrance exam.
  • Candidates can take the test more than once and choose the best result to send to the school (superscore). Candidates can choose up to 4 universities to submit their results for free.
  • ACT will not deduct points for incorrect answers, so test takers can speculate and choose the answer if the question is beyond their understanding.
  • ACT is based solely on high school knowledge, so candidates will feel more confident and more comfortable with what they are familiar with.

3. What is a good ACT score?

To know how good or bad the overall score is, candidates should compare their score ranking to all candidates in the same country. For example, if your score is in the 65th place, that means you scored 65% higher than ACT test takers.

In general, ACT scores are broken down as follows:

• • Low: 17 points or less
  • Average: 18 to 24 points
  • Good: 25 to 29 points
  • Excellent: 30 points or higher

To assess which scores are good, candidates need to consider their goals and school choices. If you’re trying to get into a top school like Yale, you need an ACT with excellent entry scores. If you’re just trying to get into any college, a mid-range ACT score should suffice.

See also: Should you take SAT or ACT when studying in the US?

4. How to get good and excellent ACT?

Before taking the exam, candidates need to research carefully and set an appropriate score goal. There are 3 necessary steps that candidates should refer to before starting to review:

• • Identify a number of schools you want to apply to. Because each school will have different ACT score requirements, test takers need to know how many benchmarks they should achieve to achieve a specific goal.
  • Determine the ACT score you need to get into the school. Candidates can refer to the ACT score chart at 100 public schools and 100 private schools in the US.
  • Set ACT score goals. If you want to go to an excellent school, you need to set high goals. If you want to go to a middle school, your goal will be lower.

So, if the candidate does not get the expected score, what to do? Here are things candidates can do to improve their ACT scores:

• • Take a lot of practice tests to assess your own ability, get familiar with the structure of the questions, and find out where you need to study in depth to improve your knowledge.
  • Retake the test if the ACT test score is not satisfactory the first time, helping candidates have a complete overview of the test, and getting more experience for the next test.
  • Select the high score of each section and calculate the average score so that the final score of the candidate is the highest.
  • Find a reputable exam preparation center to improve the weak areas, because if self-study is not effective, candidates should look to experienced teachers to help them achieve the desired score.

5. How to register for the ACT certificate?

Registering for ACT test in Vietnam is extremely quick and convenient through two methods: online and by post. The registration process takes about 30 minutes and requires some steps such as taking a photo and filling out payment information.

If you want to register through an international test center, you should use the online registration method. If you are registering for the test in the US, US territories, Puerto Rico or Canada, you can register online or by mail.

ACT exam schedule is held 7 times a year in February, April, June, July, September, October, and December. If your scores aren’t as expected, you can take the test again, but not exceed a total of 12 times. Exam fee is $168.50 – excluding the US, US territories and Puerto Rico, excluding additional fees.

Candidates should apply a few months before the scholarship application deadline of universities. The results of the test will be announced 2 weeks after taking the official test. Candidates please do not forget to check the information of the school you are applying to, to know the final exam date you can apply for, which will usually fall in the December exam.

See also: ACT course

6. Where to study the ACT?

With the difficulty level of the ACT test, the search for a reputable ACT test center is increasingly attracting more and more students’ interest.

With a team of experienced teachers who have a deep understanding of the exam and a curriculum that follows the actual test, students studying at ACT preparation centers will be guaranteed the desired score.

One-on-one or small-group learning also helps the center to apply personalized teaching methods, promoting the best abilities of each student.

Another special feature is that some centers also fully support the exam registration process if candidates need it.

Intertu Education is currently enrolling students for SSAT exam preparation, SAT exam preparation, ACT exam preparation, GMAT exam preparation, GRE exam preparation, GED exam preparation. If you have any questions about ACT certificate, please contact us directly, via email or hotline for a free consultation.