Evaluate your student. How you tutor a particular student should depend on her skill level. For instance, suppose a student has previously taken the ACT and scored a 29 on the math portion. She has come to you for tutoring in hopes of raising that score to a 33 or 34. Because her skill level is already very high, your tutoring sessions should focus on honing those skills. In contrast, a student who scored an 18 on a previous test needs you to teach concepts and develop skills in her tutoring sessions. If a student has never taken the ACT, you will need to do some kind of evaluation to get a feel for her skill level. There are practice exams available that you can use for this purpose.
Gather the materials you will use in the tutoring sessions. There are several good ACT prep materials available and some are free. If you have access to appropriate math textbooks, use those for instruction and as a source of practice problems.
Begin each tutoring session by asking your student if he has specific questions about a particular concept or skill. If so, address the questions. Continue the session by having the student work through problems while you observe. Encourage him to ask questions when he isn’t sure about something. Point out any mistakes or omissions in his work and teach skills and concepts as needed. Review formulas and show how to apply them to specific problems.
Educate your student about the details of the test. If a student is familiar with the format of the test and knows what kinds of questions to expect, he is more likely to do well. The math portion of the ACT consists of 60 questions. Nine of those questions deal with intermediate algebra, nine with coordinate geometry, 14 with pre-algebra, 10 with elementary algebra, 14 with plane geometry and four with trigonometry. Students are allowed 60 minutes to complete the math portion of the test.
Talk to your student about the calculator he will use on the ACT. Some calculators are not allowed, so be sure your student chooses one that is on the approved list. Strongly encourage him to use the same calculator in the tutoring sessions that he will use on the ACT test so that he is familiar with it.