Help your teen ace their ACT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Ask any parent of a high school junior and there is one big day looming in the near future. It's almost ACT time for the state of Michigan and this is the time when teens are preparing for the big test. Local educator, Wendy Marty, who specializes in helping teens, talked with Rachael and Terri about her best advice for tackling the test taking room.

• Practice every section of the test and break up into "ACT club" with a partner. 
• Don't just practice in school, make sure you practice out of class as well.
• The test isn't as hard as it looks.  It's in easy test, that is just intimidating.
• Make sure to brush up on the time it takes you to do parts of the test.  For instance, the math section is 60 problems and you have one hour to complete it.  Make sure you can do the equations in one minute.
• For the reading section, practice by reading the scrolling along the bottom of your television screen during news broadcasts. If you can read it before it leaves the screen, you are reading at the rate you'll need to be at for the ACT.

There is a free workshop open to Grand Rapids residents who have a library card. This ACT Prep workshop is taking place on Saturday, Feb 9 from Noon - 4:30 p.m. at the Grand Rapids Public Library's Main Branch. To register visit www.grpl.org/registration .

Additional ACT Workshops will be held at Davenport University on Feb. 16, 23, and May 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Emily Huizen at 616-554-5391.