VQIs: Tips for tackling Quantitative Information in the ACT Reading section

The ACT has replaced its “Legacy Test” with its “Enhanced Test.” These Enhanced ACT tests are shorter, have an optional science portion, allow students more time per question, and offer fewer math choices. The ACT/SAT blogger-sphere has been buzzing about how these changes might influence your preparation strategy! Yet, amid all the concern about these new changes, many are forgetting an old update the ACT made in 2021, which may create a blind spot for all preparing for college admission.

With the release of the latest ACT practice test featuring the implemented enhancements, the 2021 announcement of VQI in the reading section is here to stay. What is VQI, you ask? It stands for Visual and Quantitative Information, or information shared with numbers and visuals (I know, shocker– think charts, tables, graphs, diagrams). And they just so happen to be very similar to the types of questions found in the science section.

Now that the science section is optional, students may not be practicing reading visual and quantitative information. So, when the ACT plops a graph or chart in the middle of a reading section (with those science-minded brain cells turned off), it could present a jarring reality for test-takers.

Don’t be caught off-guard! Prepare now to know how to tackle VQI questions, especially when they face you in the reading section.

Why put VQI in the reading ACT?

The reading section is meant to fulfill several purposes. It will test your ability to read closely, apply logic to written information, and evaluate information from multiple sources. The ACT measures these things with questions about main ideas, the interpretation of significant details, cause & effect relationships, the meaning of a certain word in context, generalizations according to the information given, and your evaluation of an author's claim with the evidence they provide. VQI effectively helps with these endeavors. It challenges your ability to integrate information from more than one source, use details to evaluate an author’s claim, and apply logical generalizations backed by data.

VQI may also help the ACT compete more effectively with the SAT

I’m not alone in making this accusation. As the two main standardized tests for collegiate admission, the ACT and SAT are in direct competition with one another. Thus, when more students took the ACT than the SAT in 2012, the SAT suddenly announced it was revamping its structure… to look a bit more like the ACT.

VQI has a similar quality. The SAT has integrated visual and quantitative information into its English and reading sections for years. This makes sense, seeing how they don’t have a separate science section. The ACT's implementation of VQI in its reading section could simply mirror this SAT habit.

Nonetheless, the implementation is not bad. Not only does its presence in reading sections help the ACT in accomplishing its reading-section goals, but it also prepares you to tackle academic reading in college. Most peer-reviewed academic articles include some form of VQI to capture complex ideas alongside their written explanations.

Becoming adept at reading and interpreting these ideas will not hurt you. In fact, it can prepare you to answer ACT questions well and to succeed in your collegiate studies.

So, have I convinced you sufficiently that you should prepare to tackle VQI in the ACT reading section? Lovely. Let’s talk next about how you should tackle these questions.

How to tackle Quantitative Information in the ACT reading section

As with most things in the reading section, answering VQI questions well will take practice. Some ACT questions can be answered correctly with good information about how to answer them (grammar rules, math principles, etc.). Other questions on the ACT are just more skill-based. VQI falls under this category. We can offer some tips, though.

Let’s assume this example: the ACT reading section includes a passage about the threat of ocean acidification. It details how humans increase the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth’s atmosphere, which is absorbed, at least in part, by the world’s oceans. While the oceans’ act improves the atmosphere for land creatures, it also lowers ocean pH. This is particularly stressful for marine organisms like corals, oysters, and plankton. It should include research indicating that when ocean pH falls below 8.00, coral can’t calcify as efficiently as it needs to. Therefore, the coral suffers.

Let’s assume they also provide the following VQI:

At first glance, this table might seem complicated. Carbonate Ion Concentrate? Average Calcification Rate?? What are these concepts? Are these numbers low, high, or normal? Do you need to pay attention to all of these categories or just some of them? When the following tips are applied, however, foreign concepts become useful information that can be quickly identified.

The captions, titles, axes, labels, and keys are important. Don’t skip over them.

It can be easy to ignore captions, titles, axes, labels, and keys. They’re sometimes viewed as excess, unnecessary information that will slow you down if you pause to read them. In actuality, this will cost you way more time if you skip over them. So in this example, be sure to note the labels: time period, average surface ocean pH, carbonate ion concentration, and average coral calcification rate. We can tie in information from the passage here, as well. The passage’s author claims that ocean pH affects how efficiently coral calcifies. We’ll read on to see if the VQI supports or negates this conclusion.

Identifying the independent and dependent variables (if present) is the foundation for interpreting graphs and tables correctly.

The next item to attend to is the independent and dependent variables. Remember: an independent variable is the variable that is manipulated, and the dependent variable is the variable that may be affected by the independent variable.

The independent variable will always be on the x-axis of a graph and the left-hand side of the table. The dependent variable will always be on the y-axis of the graph and the top of a table. In the scenario, the independent variable is time (a common independent variable), and the dependent variables are average surface ocean pH, carbonate ion concentration, and average coral calcification. This is the foundation for drawing important conclusions from the graph.

Focus on identifying trends and what they mean for the author’s main argument/topic.

Okay. Now we get down to the important stuff: identifying trends. The first thing that sticks out to me in this table is how large the gap is between the measured time periods: 1750, 2020, and the projected 2050 and 2100. There are more than 200 years between 1750 and 2020! And those are the only two measurements to have occurred; the rest is projected. Even between 1750 and 2020, the pH only decreased by 0.1. However, while the pH decreased only slightly, the carbonate ion concentration decreased by 40 μmol/kg, and the average coral calcification decreased by 25 mmol/m²/day. By 2100, carbonate ion concentration is projected to be less than half of what it was in 1750, and the average coral calcification rate is projected to be a little over 10% of what it was in 1750. Wow! Those are some trends to pay attention to!

At first glance, the decrease in pH may not seem impressive. However, the data support the author’s main argument: lower pH levels are detrimental to coral calcification. Even a decrease of .1 or .23 results in significant drops in calcification rates. The ACT will likely ask questions about these details.

Remember to stick within the scope of the passage.

Now, as with all English and reading questions, you must stick within the scope of the passage. Even if you were a retired marine biologist who had worked in the field for 40+ years and had way more information about coral calcification and how pH levels influence this, the correct answers are found within the passage. It may be tempting to make grand assumptions with VQI (e.g., in 2200, the average calcification rate will be 0), but they should give you all the information you need. Stick to the script.

Use the SAT to practice these types of questions, along with the one example the ACT released in 2021 and the newest practice test, which includes VQI.

Now that you have some tips to practice, where can you practice reading passages with VQI? The ACT only released one VQI example in 2021. However, they also released a practice reading passage with VQI in their latest practice test, Practice Test 2, Passage III. Two practice examples are likely insufficient, however. So, you may also use SAT English and Reading practice tests to practice answering questions with VQI. They should each have 4-6 VQI questions, and they will be a great resource for practice. You may also practice with the science section.

Conclusion

So, my friends. When you encounter VQI in the wild, don’t be scared! You can face this information structure and its accompanying questions head-on with some practice and these tips. They’re not going away any time soon and may be a blind spot if you haven’t also been studying for the ACT science section! We know that taking and studying for the ACT is a major milestone for all of you preparing for college and can determine your eligibility for college admission, scholarships to prestigious programs, and financial aid. By spending just a bit of time preparing for these types of questions, you can tackle them well. Don’t be scared, my friends; be prepared.