ACT Test Prep.

Study Guide
Sue Marschall LIS 704 April 20, 2013

Introduction

This study guide provides an annotated listing of materials for ACT test preparation. The materials in this guide will provide high school juniors and seniors with test preparation materials, as well as college admission information.

Intended for use in a high school library for Juniors and Seniors
This guide was designed for use in the Lyons Township High School Library, which serves LaGrange and surrounding communities. The library houses a large collection of fiction, nonfiction, and reference materials. Three computer labs are also available for student and faculty use. The library serves Juniors and Seniors at its north campus, which is where this study guide will be most beneficial. LT was awarded the 2011 Bright A+ Award and was named by Newsweek as one of the Best High Schools in America. LT is among the top high schools in the nation. Accredited by North Central Association, top 44 college prep. Schools.

Goals

Provide students with what they can learn from taking the ACT. Provide information as to how colleges use the ACT. Explain when to take the ACT. Provide students with materials to prepare for the ACT. Provide test taking tips for taking a standardized exam.

Reference Sources

(2011). College handbook. New York, NY: CollegeBoard.

Descriptions of 3,800 accredited colleges. Also includes 2 year-colleges and technical schools. The handbook contains 40 easy to use indexes to locate schools by type, size, sports offerings, and religious affiliations. Students will be able to obtain information about entrance requirements, class sizes, financial aide, housing and various majors offered at schools. The handbook also offered a $10 discount for the SAT test.

Reference Sources

(2011). Complete book of colleges. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.
This guide is sponsored by the Princeton Review. The Princeton Review has more than 25 years experience in school test preparation and private tutoring. This easy to understand guide will move you through tuition questions, financial aid queries and how selective a particular school may be. The best way to use this book is to start with the indexes that list the colleges by cost, size, location, and selectivity. Recommended for all high school seniors pursuing college.

Reference Sources

Fiske, E. B. & Hammond, B. G. (2009). Real college essays that work. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
One hundred nine examples of essays by students who got into the college of their choice. Guides students through the writing process. Popular topics are provided for students to practice from. This book takes the stress out of writing an essay and actually makes it enjoyable.

Reference Sources

(2011). The insiders guide to the colleges. New York, NY: St. MartinsGriffin. Contains acceptance rates, a college finder and an FYI section containing questions and answers. This book gives students an insider view as to what a school is like. When you want specific information about a school, this is the book to consult.

Reference Sources
Kellly, B. (2011). U.S. news & world report ultimate college guide. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
Students can learn the following about schools of their choice: rank, selectivity, graduation rates, student diversity, tuition, and financial aid information. Easy to quickly obtain information about various schools. A complete index of majors is also available. An additional and helpful guide to succeed in college is part of this guide. Other valuable information students may enjoy include: sports and clubs for recreation and student employment. A complete guide to college life for the successful college student.

Reference Sources

Springer, S. P., Reider, J., & Franck, M. F., (2009). Admission matters. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. The most current information available about choosing colleges, preparing applications, and proceeding through the financial aid process. Readers gain insight into how the admission process really works. When to submit an application is also discussed. Early applications are not always beneficial.

Reference Sources
Williams, W. E. & Woods, T. E. (2012-13). Choosing the right college. Wilmington, DE: Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
This book is unique in that it lists the worst departments, courses, and professors found in colleges. With the purchase of the book students can receive a free one-year subscription to the website CollegeGuide.org, which also profiles more schools than what is listed in the book. Essays are featured, which helps direct students in the right direction during the admission process.

Circulating Sources

Domzalski, S. M. (2012). Crash course for the ACT: the last minute guide to scoring high. New York, NY: Princeton-Review. The book is broken down into five parts: English, math, reading, science, and writing. Ten strategies are included to help improve scores. Good detailed explanations of answers are given. Tests are great practice and complete with actual times for each section.

Circulating Sources

Dulin, S. (2014). McGraw-Hills ACT. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Developed by professional ACT instructors. Model ACT essays guide students to achieve the highest possible score. Contains 6 full length ACT tests for practice. The author has prepared test-prep. classes at high schools, colleges, and long distance programs over the Internet. He has prepared thousands of students successfully for the ACT.

Circulating Sources
Durkin, M. (2012). Fun ACT prep. English & reading skill by skill. (n.p.). This book is a good tool for those feeling anxious about the ACT. High-interest teen topics are combined with standardized test questions. Practice for the ACT is accomplished through Batman, LeBron James, urban legends, and Taylor Swift. Smaller passages are used, chunked with English and reading skills. This source can be used with 1-1 instruction, classroom, or small group instruction. Teachers will also like this source because it works well with reading and language arts common core standards.

Circulating Sources

Giovannini, J. D. & Prince, P. J. (2011). Barrons ACT flash cards. Hauppauge, NY: Barrons Educational Series. All cards can be placed in a card holder, if desired. Flash cards contain grammar, math reviews, and writing tips for a strong essay. Five sections are covered: English, math, reading, science, and writing.

Circulating Sources

Hendrix, M. (2011). 1,296 ACT practice questions/Melissa Hendrix and the staff of The Princeton Review. New York, NY: Random House.
Provides users with the opportunity to practice the ACT. The book includes 3 full-length practice tests. Questions are broken down by subject. All practice questions come with detailed answer explanations. Indexed by subject, answers to questions are found in the back of the book, according to test number. Easy to understand and use.

Circulating Sources

Hendrix, M. (2013). Math and science workout for the ACT. doi: 9780307945976 The added convenience of being an eBook is a plus for this source. Practice tests for math and science with explanations are given. Available to patrons of subscribing libraries.

Circulating Sources

Kollby, J. (2010). ACT math prep. course. doi: 9781889057750

Presents an analysis of ACT math problems, similar to professional tutoring sessions. Serves as an excellent prep. for math classes in college as well. Contains actual exam questions. Introduces various techniques to use when approaching math problems. A doable approach to math with step by step processes.

Circulating Sources

Martz, G. (2013). Cracking the ACT. doi: 9780307945402 This eBook format of the ACT offers all the same parts of a typical ACT prep. book. This format offers convenience of study in any location. Online lessons an tutorials are available for more practice. Two practice tests are available in the eBook and one in online.

Circulating Sources

Mayzler, A. (2012). ACT demystified. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

This book contains the typical 4 sections of all ACT tests, but also contains classroom tested tips and strategies to master test questions. The sample tests match actual tests in degree and difficulty. Easy to understand table of contents also comes with a scantron to duplicate actual test taking. Test strategies actually help put the user at ease with taking a test. Highly recommended.

Circulating Sources

Miller, R. (2013). Bob Millers math for the ACT. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association.
Basic areas of math are covered that are typically seen on the math portion of the ACT. Mr. Millers 30 years of expertise is shown in exponents, algebra skills, angles, circles, and word problems. The book includes four ssample math exams that are sure to bring up math scores. Diagrams are clear and answer explanation is easy to understand. An index makes locating math concepts easy.

Circulating Sources
Raju, R. (2009). Dissecting the ACT 2.0: ACT test preparation advice of a perfect scorer: ACT test prep. with real ACT questions. Woodridge, IL: Platypus Global Media.
An official ACT practice test is included. The book covers a comprehensive look at English and math concepts, along with reading strategies and explanations. Learning how to manipulate reading passages with various techniques is discussed. The author teaches how to answer all questions accurately within a short period of time.

Circulating Sources

(2011). The real Act prep. guide: the only official prep. guide from makers of the ACT. Iowa City, IA: ACT Publications. One of the most popular books in school and college libraries. Contains advice and test-taking information. Contains five practice ACTs that were actually used in real ACT testing sessions.

Circulating Sources
Spare, A. (2012). ACT 36: aiming for the perfect score. Hauppauge, NY: Barrons Educational Series, Inc. This book focuses more on language arts skills. Mini review lessons are included. Lessons contain an overview of sentence structure and punctuation. Along with an analysis of fiction and nonfiction reading passages, vocabulary is also explored. The science section delves into the analysis of charts, graphs and tables. Tips for increasing your science score are included. Steps for an effective essay are also given. Easy to follow with thorough explanation.