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ACT

Nurturing Wisdom has helped thousands of students prepare for the ACT through our customized, 1:1 tutoring. The benefits extend well beyond test scores!

Students who complete our ACT tutoring program achieve an average increase of 5.5 points from their pre-test to their final test!

Our Approach to the ACT

When we meet students where they are, we have the best chance of getting them where they want to be! This approach enables us to work with students with a wide variety of needs and goals. Our instruction is:

  • Holistic - The tutoring process starts with a pre-test and consultation so that we can understand your whole child. We want to learn about their strengths and weaknesses, academic experience, learning style, personality, interests, talents, and even their schedule. 
  • Customized - The info from the pre-test and consultation helps us make a strong tutor match and tailor an effective and efficient tutoring plan. We also use those details to recommend a realistic goal score, and the number and frequency of sessions to reach it. Because instruction is individualized, we can work with students who need a full program, others who want to focus on one or two test sections, those with learning differences, and some who are looking for a confidence boost.
  • Comprehensive - We address four core competencies in our ACT tutoring: test taking strategies, academic skills, timing/pacing, and test anxiety. A deficiency in any of these areas can lead to a score that doesn't reflect your child’s ability. For example, a student may possess solid math skills but run out of time. If your child is approved for testing accommodations (such as extended time, multiple day testing, a reader, a writer, or other alternate test formats), we’ll teach them how to successfully apply them.
  • Responsive - One-to-one tutoring is dynamic and engaging! Your tutor will adjust their instruction based on how your child does in session, as well as on homework and practice tests. We’ll also be responsive to your needs. Your tutoring director will check in regularly, answer any questions you have along the way, and send timely reminders and test-related information. 

Our Results

We see an average increase of 5.5 points for students who follow our tutoring recommendations. What does that involve?

  • meeting for the suggested number of sessions
  • completing homework
  • taking a practice test before each real test

Our test prep is about much more than the test! Strong ACT scores will enhance your child’s college application, no doubt. Tutoring to achieve those good scores will also positively impact their school experience. Test prep can lead to:

  • better grades
  • reduced anxiety
  • improved test and quiz scores
  • increased chance of being awarded scholarships

It’s always fun to hear about students trying a new activity or achieving a long-held goal because of their newfound self-awareness and confidence. Scroll down to read more about our students' test prep experiences!

Getting Started

In order to truly customize test prep, it’s vital for a student to take a diagnostic pre-test before tutoring begins. While they won’t be excited about this, in the end it saves time and money. (If your child has already taken a real ACT or another practice test, let your director know. We might be able to use it instead of our pre-test.) After the pre-test is complete, we'll provide a detailed score analysis, as well as a tutoring timeline that outlines how much tutoring we recommend, a goal score, and real test dates.

If you’re not sure whether your child should prep for the ACT or SAT, read about how we make a recommendation here!

Sign up for one of our proctored pre-tests, a great opportunity to get a feel for the real test day. If your child is unable to make a proctored test date, they can take a free practice pre-test at home.

When to Start

Tutoring will be a weekly time commitment, so you want to think about when your child will have the space for it. Consider extracurricular activities, volunteering, part-time jobs, vacations, family commitments, and school projects. You can see real ACT dates here, and your director can help you determine the best timeline!

In a perfect world, we’d like for students to take a diagnostic pre-test at the end of sophomore year or summer before junior year. That gives us the most flexibility for planning and keeps anxiety at bay. However, we’ll work with students whenever they’re ready!

Online Tutoring

Our online tutoring is a great option for students who live outside of the Chicagoland area AND local students, too! Contact us to learn more.

  • Heather, parent of a junior
    Her score went up by 6 points which was amazing, but more importantly was how our tutor did it. He was patient and positive throughout. He was always available for questions and support. He focused on my daughter, but kept in contact with me as well.
    Heather, parent of a junior
  • Susan, parent of an 11th grader
    Our tutoring director was so helpful in guiding us to plan a timeline for our son's prepping and taking the ACT. Since he's our oldest we have no experience with when to ideally take, tutor, and retake the ACT to maximize performance. She has helped us to alter our plans as the ACT test dates continue to change in order to develop the best plan moving forward for our son.
    Susan, parent of an 11th grader
  • Sarah, parent of high schoolers
    Our tutor has been a pleasure, and we appreciate his expertise in helping to prepare our son for the ACT. His calm demeanor is a welcome element in this otherwise stressful point in time. He's been highly responsive and supportive in everything from scheduling logistics to answering questions about test strategy and content. We value him so much that he's now working with our other high school student on geometry.
    Sarah, parent of high schoolers
  • Paige, 11th grader
    I had a great experience with my tutor! She was extremely nice and helpful, and she always kept me on track. I also really appreciated how quick she was to respond to any questions I had over text. I have absolutely no complaints. My overall experience was great. I love how organized the company is and how structured it is to fit any student of any level.
    Paige, 11th grader
  • Courtney, parent of an 11th grader
    Our tutor has been wonderful. She tutored our daughter for her ACT and has been helping with college essays. Our daughter's ACT score went up 5 points, so we think she knows what she is doing! We have been SO happy that we came across Nurturing Wisdom. The emails we get are spot on, the services offered are extremely professional and applicable for our high schoolers, and we will not hesitate to engage with them as needed for our other two girls.
    Courtney, parent of an 11th grader
  • Casey, parent of a 10th grader
    Our tutoring director was very professional, very on point. She followed up immediately with all aspects of my daughter’s tutoring. The pre-test results are the most fascinating part of this whole “project.” Being able to distill the ACT down by subject/question/content makes the entire test achievable.
    Casey, parent of a 10th grader
  • Cynthia and Jim Patti, parents of high schoolers
    We continue to be really pleased with Nurturing Wisdom Tutoring. We have used NW tutors now for our two oldest children and have been very impressed with the tutors we’ve been matched with and the resulting ACT scores. The process, from initial introduction and tutor assignment to practice tests and scheduling, was very seamless and customer-focused. In our case, both children raised their scores significantly. We believe in the program and will definitely be back to Nurturing Wisdom when it is time for our third child to prepare for the ACT.
    Cynthia and Jim Patti, parents of high schoolers
  • Darla, parent of an 11th grader
    Our tutor was very encouraging to my daughter and motivated her to try hard. She never said anything negative and always gave my daughter hope that she could get a really good ACT score. She seemed very excited about what she was doing which gave my daughter more motivation, too. She used their time very well, and their sessions always went until the last minute. She helped my daughter raise her ACT score quite a bit! I will pursue additional tutoring with my son because of the great experience with my daughter.
    Darla, parent of an 11th grader
  • Aunt of a 12th grader
    After our experiences, I would recommend Nurturing Wisdom to anyone. We appreciate our tutor’s excellent work with Rahul. He has learned study skills and gained confidence in his abilities that will serve him well in college. And he's already been accepted to some colleges with generous merit and need-based financial offers!
    Aunt of a 12th grader
  • Kelly, Parent of an Online Tutoring Student
    We could not have been more pleased with the tutoring at Nurturing Wisdom. From the pre-tutoring interview to learn what type of student/learner my daughter is to the tutoring itself, this program is top-notch. Although we were a little nervous to use a tutor online, that aspect was a non-issue. Overall, my daughter was so prepared for the ACT, and her score showed that preparedness. Nurturing Wisdom knows what they are doing and we highly recommend them!  
    Kelly, Parent of an Online Tutoring Student
  • Michelle, parent of a 12th grader
    Our tutor was fabulous! He taught Kevin more about grammar, punctuation, and writing than at least his three years in junior high! He also is unbelievably patient with a fantastic sense of humor. He helped with both ACT prep as well as college essays. My son really enjoyed working with his tutor.
    Michelle, parent of a 12th grader
  • Parent of a junior
    I want to let you know how you and your tutors changed the lives of my children. You were crucial in helping my daughter study for the ACT. Due to a chronic illness, she missed six weeks of school in her junior year and needed some extra help. She raised her ACT score from a 24 to a 30 and was able to get into her #1 college!
    Parent of a junior
  • Parent of a senior
    Our daughter's improvement on the ACT increased her scholarship money by $4,000 per year! I am already "prepping" my high school freshman to expect ACT tutoring from Nurturing Wisdom! Your approach works! Thanks so much for everything. We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.
    Parent of a senior