A team of three professors and academic researchers claim that the ‘science’ and ‘reading’ section of the ACT standardized test has little to no relevance, when it comes to predicting the college readiness and success of the high school seniors. On the other hand, English and Mathematics sections of the ACT go very near to predicting the college success and as such the admission officers must pay higher attention to the scores in these sections. But, as the practice goes, it is the overall composite score of the student that is considered in matters of admission screening, despite the fact that the individual section score break down is also given along with the composite ACT score.
The findings were published in leading media journals and dailies, much to the dismay of ACT Inc, which said that it was unaware of any such study being underway until the findings were published in the form of a research paper in the third week of June, 2011. The authors of the study, The authors of the paper are Eric P. Bettinger, associate professor of education at Stanford University; Brent J. Evans, a doctoral student in higher education at Stanford; and Devin G. Pope, an assistant professor at the business school of the University of Chicago. Read more…
You have appeared for the SAT/ACT standardized testing, made the grades and now it’s the time of vibrancy – deciding which school to go to. With so many colleges and courses to choose from, it may seem forever before you can find the perfect college for you. Here is some sound advice for students and parents on how to narrow down your college choices –
1) Evaluate Your Interests: The first step in deciding on any program or college is to assess yourself and your interests. This will help you examine your goals and offer ideas on the fields of study or career you may like to pursue. There is a plethora of assorted information on latest career fields in demand, the training required for the job you want etc. Make sure to devote some time looking into it as this helps comprise a clear picture on what you would like to focus on in your college.
Read more…
Taking the SAT test is still considered an American teenage rite of passage. But despite its widespread acceptance for the past 63 years, its dominance as the must-take test for college-bound students has been slowly slipping. Not only do all four-year colleges that require a standardized test—including Harvard and Yale—let applicants choose between submitting SAT and ACT scores (the last school made the change in 2007), but a growing number of competitive institutions including Smith College, Wake Forest, American University, Bowdoin College, Bates College, and, most recently, Virginia Wesleyan, have decided to forgo standardized tests altogether.
Today, about 830 of the country’s 2,430 accredited four-year colleges do not use the SAT or ACT to admit the majority of applicants. (Some schools require a test if you have a low GPA or class rank.) “Colleges are trying to increase the number of applicants and diversify their population,” says Kristen Campbell, executive director of college-prep programs for Kaplan Test Prep.
Read More on the Newsweek.com
Should your child take the SAT or the ACT ? In some of my earlier posts I spoke on What is the SAT test all about ?
and Debunking Common Myths of the SAT
Here’s another way to determine whether your schild can score high ACT scores or SAT scores : Simple, Take a Practice SAT and ACT test.
You can take a sample SAT test anytime on the College Board website. The student can receive the score immediately after taking the practice SAT test. This would help him determine on how he or she fared on each type of question and category. You can also find ACT questions here.
Here’s another idea: Try the PSAT, which is the toddler SAT test that students can take as early as their sophomore year in high school. You may like to ask your school what its policy is.
Try some of our free online SAT Practice Tests here too.
College Admissions Consultant Bruce Vinik tells us about the entire college admissions process that is creeping earlier and earlier into the high school years to the detriment of students. The mothers and father of 11th graders are feeling panicked and feel that the college admission process is slipping away from their children and from them.
The concern about 12th graders is understandable since they are now in the midst of filling out application and writing essays. But an increasing numbers of students are taking the official SAT or Act in the fall of 11th grade. This is not a healthy development. They would be better off waiting until the late winter or early spring when most of them first begin to think seriously about going to college since they are not ready to make the commitment.
In addition, by taking the SAT or ACT in the fall, 11th graders are depriving themselves of several months of classroom education and maturity that can help them become better test takers. Also,by jumping into standardized testing before they need to, kids run the risk of burning out. In my experience, students who start the college process earlier tend to tire of it earlier.
Read more on the Washington Post
A brief search turned up statistics to the effect that about 55% of students who retake the SAT improve their scores and students with low junior year scores improve them the most. There is still wide spread preference, justifiable or not for the SAT over the ACT. The ACT test is said to merely test an individual student’s ability to regurgitate the curriculum. It does not require a student to have a broad knowledge base or the cognitive ability to think “outside of the curriculum”. On the other hand, the SAT does require a student to have a broad knowledge base or the cognitive ability to think, and is therefore the preferred measure of a student’s true ability. Fact is, some students consistently score higher on the ACT while others favor the SAT….Read more on The New York Times
In a bold push to get all students college-ready, the Board will vote next month on a plan that will require most North Carolina students to take the ACT college entrance exam before graduation. The board has two reasons for wanting to require the national tests. One, ACT scores will be used as a tool for measuring school effectiveness and two, low performing students can be identified and prepared to take ACT compass. The ACT Compass is a test that some community colleges use to place students in appropriate courses. The state would continue its practice of paying for students who take the preliminary SAT, and would exempt 10th-graders who do well on the SAT or ACT from taking the ACT the next year with their classmates. The state would not pay for 10th-graders who take a college entrance exam. Read more on The Examiner.
The number of perfect ACT scores for the Class of 2010 is more than twice the perfect scorers in the Class of 2006. 588 out of 1.5 million who took the test in 2010 versus 216 out of 1.2 million in 2006.Meanwhile the College Board saw a 25 percent increase in perfect SATs: 297 perfect scorers among 1.5 million students in 2009, compared to 238 among 1.4 million tests in 2006.
Across the nation a growing cadre of high school students is doing what used to be nearly impossible, earning perfect scores on the SAT and ACT. Gabe Blanco, 17, a Seven Hills senior, earned a perfect 2400 on the SAT. Meredith Bradley, a 16-year-old Beechwood High senior, aced the ACT, earning all 36 points on the college entrance exam.
No one says the tests are easier. But ACT and SAT spokespeople theorize that more students are taking tougher, college-prep classes than in prior years. Both tests claim more than 1.5 million test takers a year, though no one knows how many students take both. The ACT has generally been favored in the Midwest, central and southern states, while the SAT is embraced on the east and west coasts and among Ivy League colleges. Read More on Cincinnati News.
Julie Mack notes in the Kalamazoo Gazette: Over the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of African-Americans in Michigan will start their college careers. While college readiness is a nationwide issue for students of all races, it is predominantly problematic for African-Americans. A vast majority of these students are at peril of failing at least one class this fall or requiring remedial courses before they are capable of college-level work, according to an ACT study on college readiness released this month. In Michigan’s Class of 2010, only 4 percent of African-American students are academically prepared for college biology and only 7 percent are ready for college algebra, based on their scores on the ACT college-admission test. Only 25 percent are ready for freshman English composition. Read more on The Kalamazoo Gazette
A team of three professors and academic researchers claim that the ‘science’ and ‘reading’ section of the ACT standardized test has little to no relevance, when it comes to predicting the college readiness and success of the high school seniors. On the other hand, English and Mathematics sections of the ACT go very near to predicting the college success and as such the admission officers must pay higher attention to the scores in these sections. But, as the practice goes, it is the overall composite score of the student that is considered in matters of admission screening, despite the fact that the individual section score break down is also given along with the composite ACT score.
