When Should I Guess On the ACT?

The ACT is always quick to remind students that there is no guessing penalty on the test. Fill in every answer, they assert. But it’s more complicated than that. After all, every question is worth the exact same amount. It’s not like in school where a tough question might be worth four points while a simple one is worth one. On the ACT, regardless of difficulty, every question is worth the same. Given that it is a timed test, students should focus on completing the easy questions first so as to maximize their score potential.  Then, if you are running out of time, all that you have to guess on are the difficult questions, questions you might have missed anyway, questions that would have taken a lot of time. Leave no easy question on the table!  All you need to know to implement this strategy is where the easy questions are on the test!

The English section is the place where it is more difficult to tell the difference between easy and hard questions. In general, there are two types of questions: those that ask about nitpicky details and those that ask about the big picture. Do a practice test and try to see which ones you do worse on. Then, save those for the end of each passage. Fewer people run out of time on the English section than any other section of the test, so  it’s okay if you aren’t sure. There is a good chance you won’t need to use this strategy on the English.

The math section is the easiest to remember. The questions start out at a fairly easy level and get progressively more difficult throughout the test with the last ten questions being by far the most difficult.  If you routinely run out of time on the math focus on crushing 1-30, completing 30-50, and just guessing on 50-60.

On the reading, timing tends to be tough for just about everyone. The questions are in no particular order of difficulty so you need to learn what tough questions look like. Start on each passage with questions that tell you where the answer is. If a question says in line 27… then that will be a question that you likely can answer quickly and efficiently. Next, try to answer and questions that are brief and to the point or have simple answers.  At the end of every passage answer long and complex questions that ask about big picture ideas and complex feelings and emotions.  Since you get about nine minutes for each passage make sure you incorporate a few seconds at the end for guessing. Then, move on to the next passage where there are more easy questions.

Finally, the science has a fairly predictable pattern. Each individual passage starts out with simple questions and progresses to more difficult questions. The simple questions generally just ask for basic scientific knowledge or for you to read a graph or chart. The more difficult questions require you to make connections and apply scientific principles to specific scenarios. If you need more time on the science consider guessing on the last question of each passage.

Remember, while it is good to guess on questions you don’t have time for, it is even more effective if you ensure that the questions you guess on are the ones you would have struggled with anyway. Make sure that you practice this strategy before test day to ensure that you’re comfortable with it and happy testing!