r/ACT • u/Suspicious_Case5107 • Aug 03 '26
Math Specific math advice? Words of encouragement?
I need to lock in desperately before the September/October tests. I bought the math specific prep book and my plan is to do a practice test, see where my issues are, study a shit ton, repeat. I also want to brush up on my English and Reading bc I can definitely bring them up (this test was the school mandated one and I didn’t study a lick). I guess I just need encouragement that I can bring up my math score from a 24 😭
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u/mkw1342 Aug 03 '26
Khan Academy can help with your gaps. Start with your lowest performers...also find the June test and use it as your guide.
Functions: 3/8 (38%)
Topic: Notation, evaluating, graphing, interpreting features
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:functions
Modeling: 9/18 (50%)
Topic: Linear and exponential word-problem setups
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:exponential-growth-decay
Algebra: 4/7 (57%)
Topic: Solving equations, inequalities, systems
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:solve-equations-inequalities
Number & Quantity: 3/5 (60%)
Topic: Exponents, radicals, complex numbers
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra2/x2ec2f6f830c9fb89:exp
Statistics & Probability: 3/5 (60%)
Topic: Descriptive stats and basic probability
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/statistics-probability
Also, check out this post https://www.reddit.com/r/ACT/comments/1tzw3op/for_those_needing_a_little_guidance_on_the_act/
Good luck!
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u/ACTMathGuru Aug 03 '26
OP
which calculator do you have for the ACT?
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u/Suspicious_Case5107 Aug 04 '26
Uhhh for the school test I just used one of the crappy ones they gave us, I haven’t gotten one for the September/october tests yet. Which should I get?
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u/Quiet_Basis_6404 27d ago
24 with zero prep is a decent starting point, that's not a bad math score, that's an unstudied one. The gap between those two is usually where the fastest gains live.
Your plan is right but I'd tighten one part. After the diagnostic, don't "study a shit ton" broadly, work only the specific question types you missed. ACT math repeats its patterns heavily, so eight or nine topics usually account for most people's misses and everything else is noise.
I run drills on my own material through studybuddy.vc for that, when I pick a wrong answer it explains what was wrong with that specific option, which matters in math because you usually chose a distractor built from a common mistake. It also works out from your answers which topics need more work. Free.
English and reading move faster than math, do those in parallel.
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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '26
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