x
Breaking News
More () »

Family Focus: Student Who gets perfect ACT score offers test-taking tips

Students are under pressure to perform well and they need to take tests all the time. Experts offer ways to excel.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Some people are just good at taking tests. Others struggle. 

Knickolas Laux is the former. The Sylvania Southview Junior got a perfect "36" on his ACT. 

"I was really, really happy. It was just a rare occurrence. It's crazy. It's such a good thing to happen. It's hard to describe," Laux said about the feat.

The first time Laux took the test he was in 8th grade and got an impressive 32.

Laux said an ACT prep book with practice tests really helped him. 

"There's four parts, so I took two parts a night and then the last night before I took the test, I took the entire thing so that I'd be prepared and have a good level of confidence going in," he explained.

He has three main tips for test-taking success:

  • Go in with confidence and a positive attitude. Laux says practice tests can help achieve that
  • Get a good night's rest
  • Look for patterns. 

"That's something that I did, like with the math I noticed it was getting harder as it was going so you can know how much time you want to spend on each section," said Laux.

It's not just high school students feeling the pressure to perform on college entrance tests. Elementary students face it too with state mandates. 

Psychiatrist, Dr. Victoria Kelly said test-taking anxiety is a real thing. 

"Isn't just the normal nervousness that comes before taking a test. It is debilitating anxiety. It raises that level to such an extent that you cannot function while you're taking the test," said Kelly.

Dr. Kelly added that it can happen for a variety of reasons. Maybe you're afraid to fail, or haven't prepared enough. Maybe you had a bad experience in the past. 

Dr. Kelly recommended the same tips as Knick along with tips for anxiety.

"You can practice breathing exercise, muscle relaxation exercise, so if they get to the test and notice things happening, they can use those beforehand to help calm themselves down," she said.

She said if you find yourself paralyzed at the start of a test, just dive right in and as you're going, your brain will switch gears and go with it.

As for Knick, his sights are now set on the SAT and that perfect 1600. 

"Perfect on one should be a perfect on the other, but it's a different test so we'll see," he said. 

RELATED: ACT to allow students to retake individual sections of exam

RELATED: Ohio teen earns perfect scores on college entrance exams

Before You Leave, Check This Out