It's tempting to think that taking a pre-calculus or calculus class will help your SAT® or ACT® test scores, but it's not true! My High School Subject Test White Paper will help you gain critical insights into the AP®, SAT®, and CLEP® subject tests. These tips, along with those below, will help you prepare your children for success!

What will not help increase your test scores? 

• ​Calculus
• Physics
  
• Pre-Calculus
• Differential Equations
• Statistics

On the ACT®, there are only FOUR questions beyond algebra 2 or geometry included on the test. On the SAT®, there are NO trigonometry questions and just a few algebra 2 concepts included. That's not to say that taking pre-calc isn't a good idea. I think it's a GREAT idea that will help earn college admission as you demonstrate the rigor of your homeschool, and how your child can work hard even in hard subjects. But, that aside, it's just not going to help with the ACT® or SAT® math test scores. 

What will help increase test scores?​​ 

The best way to prep for the math portion of these tests is to practice the math questions that are actually used on each of the tests. Keep practicing until they all start to look the same. Remember, even slightly more familiarity with the questions they ask could increase your child's SAT®​ or ACT®​ score enough to max out those automatic merit scholarships associated with high school test scores.​ 

• ​(20-25%) Pre-Algebra (integers, fractions, ratios, percents, basic probability, counting, basic statistics, charts​)
• (15-20%) Basic Algebra (solving and simplifying expressions, factoring, basic inequalities, integer exponents, square roots)​
• (15-20%) Plane Geometry (triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, angles, perimeter, area, volume​)​
• (15-20%) Intermediate Algebra (quadratic formula, radical expressions, absolute value with inequalities, functions, complex numbers, roots of polynomials​)
• (15-20%) Coordinate Geometry (number lines graphs, graphs of equations of lines and circles and conics, distance, midpoint, transformations​)
• (20-25%) Plane Geometry (plane figures properties and relations, angles - perpendicular - parallel lines, transformations, proof and proof techniques, volume, application of geometry to three dimensions)
• (5-10%) Trigonometry (properties and graphs of the six trigonometric functions, basic identities, basic trigonometric equations​)

I hope these facts put you more at ease about preparing your student for these important high school tests! You can help your child determine the best test for them to take, and prepare them for these tests by getting tips in my article, How to Ace the SAT® or ACT®.

Need more help? Join my Gold Care Club and I can help you personalize your child's high school plan.​ Find out more about the Gold Care Club. 

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