Secondary school success doesn’t automatically translate to ACT/SAT success. Even for excellent students, the SAT Math is difficult since it asks familiar concepts in unfamiliar ways. Even for excellent students, the SAT CR can be difficult since it asks vocabulary that is unfamiliar, and requires reading abilities many students haven’t used. Even for good students, the SAT/ACT Writing is usually difficult because it asks for impromptu opinion-based essays, with a severe time constraint (25 minutes for SAT; 30 minutes for ACT). The ACT/SAT is absolutely not a way of measuring fixed skills, competencies, or “intelligence”. (Ask any students who definitely have raised their scores 200+ points after a few months of prep.) The ACT/SAT is coachable. Everyone improves with training. The only question is the amount of improvement. To be blunt, although real: almost anyone seeking a good competitive university or college who doesn’t make an attempt to master the ACT/SAT can be unwisely sacrificing long-term satisfaction for short-term frivolity. I state this due to the sheer number of adults who rue their not making the effort in high school, and for the trends that elite educational institutions carry MORE punch with hiring in addition to grad school decisions than in the past. Though we make an effort to make it otherwise, ACT/SAT test prep is absolutely not particularly entertaining. We don’t drag out the learning. A small number of intensive weeks with us, or once weekly for the full semester is all, should you do itright. Consider it a part-time summer time job; or treat it as an extra honors course for the semester. ACT and SAT test prep has become one of several responsibilities for the college-bound teenager. We don’t drag out class time either. A semi-militaristic approach towards promptness in addition to missed lessons helps everyone. We give extra help, and really encourage parents to help prompt students to employ Help Line The best time to study for the ACT or SAT is when the student has the most leisure time, often the summer months. All the factors being equal, the best time to prep is early - the summer before junior year, junior fall, and also junior winter season. (This assumes the student has completed a semester each of Algebra I and Geometry by then). Holding an awesome ACT and/or SAT score before senior year would make college visits and university or college decision-making simpler and easier.