Like KADmom, we signed our older DDs up when they were in 4th grade, but didn't test until 5th. We tested again in 6th. We will do the same thing with DD9. Both of our older DDs liked having the exposure to the test and we were able to see growth for both of them from the 1st year to the second.

Our former district used the Explore test for 8th graders, and I feel the early exposure played a huge part in my oldest DD having the top scores at her school. And, because the Explore format is so similar to the ACT, it helped her to feel comfortable with the ACT when she took it.

With our middle DD, we moved districts this year and honestly, her Explore scores played a big part in showing her need for math acceleration.