Why Students “Know It”… but Can’t Use It on the ACT: The Illusion of Learning Problem

How the Science of Learning Actually Improves ACT Scores

I sat down with my daughter the other day to review her missed questions on the ACT and she told me nearly half a dozen times, “I knew that!” My first response was “Well, clearly you didn’t if you didn’t get it right…” But then I watched her do it and realized she did know it, she just wasn’t able to retrieve it on the spot during the test. If you’ve ever heard a student (or your own child) say, “I know this,” right before missing the question, then read on.

Unfortunately, this is one of the most frustrating parts of prep. (Realistically, it’s the most frustrating part of learning in general.) Students are often doing everything they were told to do, and still not seeing score gains.

They’ve:

• Reviewed notes

• Completed packets

• Watched explanations

• Taken practice tests

• Highlighted, underlined, and reread
  

  And yet, their ACT score barely moves. Sometimes not even at all. So what’s going on?

The uncomfortable truth?

What is happening is the illusion of learning. Feeling prepared is not the same as being prepared, and the Science of Learning explains why.

The Illusion of Learning

There’s a powerful cognitive trap students fall into when studying. Researchers call it the illusion of learning.

It happens when something feels familiar, so the brain assumes it has mastered the content.

Here’s what that looks like in real life:

• “I remember seeing this rule.”

• “This looks easy when I read it.”

• “I understand it when someone explains it.”

• “I can duplicate that example.”

Unfortunately recognizing the content or skill is only the first step. Students who can also retrieve, apply, and decide under pressure will be more successful. Those are far more complex skills and require practice and training. 

Why Traditional ACT Prep Feels Productive (But Isn’t)

Most traditional study strategies reward passive familiarity:

• Rereading notes

• Watching solution videos

• Doing many similar problems in a row

• Reviewing worked examples

  These strategies create false confidence, because the answer is always nearby. Sure, you can find the correct answer once you know your initial choice was wrong. (Here is where you will also hear students say, “I was debating between my choice and that one.”) The problem? The brain never has to work to find it.

If the brain hasn’t practiced retrieving information independently, a student will not see improvements on test day no matter how many hours they study. 

This is why students can:

• Ace homework (They did it ALL!)

• Feel confident during review (They aced the study guide!)

• Freeze on test day (They failed the exam…)
  

  Nothing is “wrong” with the student, but their brain wasn’t trained properly for the tasks tests actually require.

What This Looks Like on the ACT

Let’s make this concrete.

ACT English

Students know grammar rules, but struggle to apply them quickly inside a paragraph.

Why? They’ve memorized rules in isolation, but haven’t practiced identifying errors in context.

ACT Math

Students recognize formulas, but can’t recall them. Furthermore, when given a problem they don’t know which one to use.

Why? After following an example, they practiced problems grouped by topic instead of choosing strategies under time pressure and on a variety of concepts.

ACT Reading

Students understand the passage, but continuously go back to the text to try and find the answers.

Why? They practiced comprehension, but not evidence retrieval or analysis.

ACT Science

Students see patterns in data when it’s explained, but struggle to find them independently.

Why? They’ve relied on walkthroughs instead of interpreting unfamiliar visuals themselves.

Across every section, the pattern is the same:

Students feel prepared because the information is familiar, but that information is gone in the heat of the moment.

What the Research Tells Us

Cognitive science has been warning us about this for years.

In Make It Stick, researchers explain that strategies which feel easy and efficient often produce the weakest long-term learning.

Why? Because learning sticks when it’s effortful AND difficult.

The brain strengthens memory when it has to:

• Retrieve information without cues

• Struggle a bit

• Make mistakes and correct them

• Decide between competing options

In other words, the very actions students are often shielded from in traditional test prep. You can’t familiarity your way into higher ACT scores. What students need is better cognitive training.

The Shift That Changes Everything

Once students understand this, frustration turns into clarity, confidence increases, and practice becomes intentional.

They stop asking, “Why isn’t this working?” and start asking, “Am I practicing in a way that forces my brain to retrieve and decide?” That question alone changes outcomes.

Coming Next: Why Struggle Is Actually a Good Thing

In the next post, we’ll tackle one of the most misunderstood ideas in education:

Why productive struggle is what actually drives ACT score growth.

We’ll break down:

• What “desirable difficulty” really means

• Why struggle feels wrong but works

• How to apply it safely and effectively in ACT prep

Once students stop avoiding struggle, learning finally starts to stick.