Dad, what is the difference between who and whom? I had answered these types of questions since my daughters learned to talk, but this time it was different. A lot of money was at stake, and the answer might even determine if they got into a top college or not. The question above appears in every ACT test and most students do not know the answer. (Here is a hint: If you answer a question with HIM, you should have used WHOM.) Born in the Netherlands, I was at first unfamiliar with the concepts of the ACT, and I was sure that my daughters' activities, volunteer hours, and leadership positions would give them a great scholarship. Little did I know how much emphasis colleges put on the numbers of the American College Test, the ACT; In Kentucky a one-point difference (just 6 questions) can automatically increase your scholarship by $4500.00 or more. I decided to analyze every question that my oldest daughter missed, and I found my first pattern: she missed four out of five circle questions. I know. I hate cylinder problems, she said. That day, we drove to Cincinnati, and before we were even halfway I had taught her every circle formula, forwards and backwards. Give me a HARD problem, Dad, she would say. Back home, she flew over her previously-missed circle questions and nailed every one of them. Having just started the Montessori High School in town, I then analyzed each of the missed questions of my students in their PLAN and EXPLORE tests. Every student received a report with the top categories in which they had made the most mistakes, and they integrated exercises and missed questions into their homework assignments. As I had studied Instructional Design at the University of Kentucky, I wanted to find out how I could best teach the necessary skills for the ACT. By the time my youngest daughter was a junior, I had built up an extensive set of skills pertaining to the ACT, and I took every test that she took as well. I made 1-page handouts and mini quizzes for every area in which she and her friends needed help. Can you make me a page that contains every math formula that I will need on the ACT? she asked innocently. Soon this handout was known as The Beast and made its way to Morehead State University and even India. By now, I had become a full-time college planner as one of the owners of Class 101 in Lexington. I took every ACT that I could find and discovered more and more patterns that I organized in my own system, called trendsheets. Currently, if a student takes a test, my trendsheets reveal within minutes of completion where they made their mistakes. As the ACT is a standardized test, each version is very similar and therefore very predictable. Most of my students are able to improve their scores three points or more by mastering areas that previously cost them points. My trendsheets help them to set short-term goals to improve instead of looking at the daunting task to work on EVERYTHING. Now that both my girls are in college, I have put all the handouts, quizzes and trendsheets in a book, that is appropriately called Analyze your ACT. It took me two years to complete an overview that covers every aspect of the test: how to be a better reader, how to avoid mistakes in graphs and tables, and even how to get the area of an equilateral triangle ( 1/2 S*1/2 S*√3). Now all parents can work along their child on test-taking skills, grammar rules, and formulas and analyze a student's ACT. Most importantly, each student can increase his or her score by focusing on one area at a time with 1-page handouts and 1-page quizzes. I wish the best of luck to those for WHOM this book is written. Winni lives in Lexington, KY, with his wife Ania.
