I know it sounds dumb, but when I did some practice math tests, I consistently got the first 30 or 35 correct, then miss like 5 to 8 in the next 30. Does the math get harder the further you go or am I just rushing and losing focus?
You're correct - ACT Math does get harder the further you go. As we explain in this article on ACT Math Question order, the 60 Math questions can be roughly divided into three tiers of difficulty: Questions 1-20: "easy" Questions 21-40: "medium" Questions 41-60: "hard"
In addition, based on an analysis one of our blog writers did on the ACT Math test, questions 1-30 tend to test algebra and numbers, while questions 31-60 focus more on geometry and trigonometry. Therefore, it's possible that you're also struggling in particular with geometry and trigonometry content (in addition to the "harder" questions).