My twins took the EXPLORE last year at 10 yo through NUMATS, and we did practice as they had not done scantron tests before. We were impatient waiting for the sample tests from NUMATS and tracked them down on the ACT website. I created a mock scantron form on the computer and printed off copies for their answers. We did our practice on a quiet, relaxed morning at home during winter break. We timed the tests - a fraction of the actual test time, in proportion to the number of questions on the practice test relative to the actual test. Our ds is very, umm, *reluctant*, shall we say, to stop an activity if he feels *he* is not ready to stop, so we felt this aspect of a timed test was important to practice. Also, we bribed them - a few minutes of extra computer time for giving it their all on the practice. I think it was worth doing the practice. They were both at ease going into the actual test, and both scored very well.
