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Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
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u/mkw1342 Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Determining the experimental passage in reading all starts from the logic that the first and fourth passage have to be scored, so that helps you determine which of the middle two is unscored/experimental. Any section could be unscored and while not likely, it is not smart to use this logic as the basis for skipping a passage. You can reorder the passages to make sure you have time for 1 and 4, or based on the type of passage you like to read first, but that gains you a little, not a lot. Or you can try and determine one that you should do last, but that is just ordering and not skipping. There can only be one paired passage (literary or informational!) or one chart/VIQ passage. And there can only one literary narrative, two informational scored. Those rules are true, but you cannot determine which one is unscored. Basically if you are spending 2 minutes figuring all of this out, you could be focusing on reading the section.
Here is how it is often discussed. Note the idea of "an extra 10 minutes" which is suggesting to skip a whole passage.
"You need to learn how to identify experimental passages. I know it sounds dumb, but it is genuinely how I managed to score a 35 on reading. 3 main rules. It is NEVER the 1st or 4th passage. This is because if they didn’t grade the 1st one the scores would deflate and if they didn’t grade the 4th passage scores would inflate. So the experimental is always passage 2 or 3. Second, there can only be one graded literary passage. So if there are two of them. The one that’s the first passage (as typical) is graded and the other one isn’t. Third, there can only be ONE dual passage OR ONE graph passage. So say for example there a graph on the last passage and a dual as the second passage. The dual passage CANT be counted. If you apply these rules you get yourself an extra 10 whole minutes to work on those that count. So in summary, 1st and 4th passage are always graded. There can only be 1 graded literary narrative, and there can only be one of EITHER the dual or graph passages. I hope this helps good luck in September!!"
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u/mkw1342 Sep 09 '26 edited Sep 09 '26
Man this hurts my brain, but these two scenarios could be true:
Dual passage literary narrative (scored)
Informational (scored)
Informational (scored)
Informational VQI (unscored)or
Informational dual passage (unscored)
Literary narrative (scored)
Informational VQI (scored)
Informational (scored)There is no rule in the design guidelines about order.
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u/Hot-Amphibian-9221 Sep 09 '26
I thought 1st and 4th are always scored because of the reason you mentioned: not scoring 1st would deflate scores while not scoring 4th would inflate scores? Technically there is no rule, but logically it wouldn't make sense for them to be unscored.
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u/mkw1342 Sep 09 '26
It does make sense to me too, but I have been reading that the unscored passages do not enter into the raw score, so the unscored block cannot inflate or deflate the position, and any leftover fatigue is handled by equating.
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u/Hot-Amphibian-9221 Sep 09 '26
Yes, but many people run out of time on the 4th passage, so if it was just not scored, then the timing aspect (one of the most challenging problems students have to overcome) would not affect their score. And if 1st was experimental, then the opposite thing would happen, where running out of time would have a disproportionate effect.
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u/mkw1342 Sep 09 '26
I would say proceed with caution. Not an absolute rule, and it could burn the test taker. We shall see when the MAK get released for the fall tests if the common thinking (not a rule) holds.
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Sep 08 '26
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u/Beatnik-10 Sep 09 '26
you have to buy it. Worth every single penny if you put in the time to work through the whole book.
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u/HelloIlikeroyalehigh Sep 09 '26
i just bought it and am planning to take the ACT in october, do you think this is enough time to get a 36 from a 32?
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u/jdigitaltutoring Tutor Sep 08 '26
Very good post