Archive for the ‘SAT/ACT’ Category

SAT II: Subject Tests—What Are They and Do You Need to Take Them?

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

Another question that we are frequently asked is “What are the SAT II’s and do I need to take them?”.

The SAT II’s are content based tests.  They are each one hour long and are multiple choice.  Students can choose from a variety of subjects including literature, government, history, biology, chemistry, physics, two levels of math, and languages.  Students can take up to three exams on one test day.

The SAT II’s are generally required or recommended by highly competitive schools.  If you are a student that is planning to apply to schools, such as UVA or other similarly competitive colleges, then you will need to take at least two subjects.  Some schools require specific tests for particular programs.  For example, an engineering or architecture program may require that one of the tests be in the maths or sciences.   Schools that are competitive generally have a strong pool of applicants.  They use the SAT II’s as another factor in their admissions decisions.

To determine if you need to take the SAT II’s, decide on the list of colleges to which you’d like to apply.  Then, you can look up the application requirements on the school’s website or by using a college search engine like Bright Futures.  On this site, you can search for a school, then go to applying and admissions information to see what tests are required and how they are used (admissions decisions or placement only). Here is an example of UVA’s profile.  As you can see, UVA says that SAT II’s are recommended.  If a college says recommended, you should consider it required to have a strong application.

Now that you know if you need to take the SAT II’s, there are a few things to keep in mind.  Not all subjects are given on all test dates.  It is important to decide which tests you would like to take and plan a date that those tests are given. CollegeBoard has practice questions for each test and the dates that the tests are given.  Often, the best time to take the SAT II’s is May or June.  This is especially true if you are currently in the course in which you plan to test.  For example, if physics is a strength of yours and you are currently in AP physics, it is a good idea to take the SAT II around the same time that you take your AP exam.  This way, you can prepare for both tests at the same time.

Plan the calendar of test dates early.  You cannot take the SAT and the SAT II’s on the same test date.  Plan for this at the beginning of your junior year so you can map out dates for the SAT, ACT and/or SAT II’s.  If you plan to space out the testing throughout your junior year, you will avoid a very overwhelming spring when AP exams, SOL’s, and finals can make for a heavy workload.

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Should I Take the ACT or SAT?

Monday, April 8th, 2013

One of the questions we are asked most frequently is “should I take the ACT”?

I always tell juniors that they should try both the SAT and the ACT.  Even if you do not take an official test, you should at least take a practice test of each to get an idea of the differences and see which test showcases your strengths better.  This does not mean that you need or should send both SAT & ACT scores to college.   Since both tests are meant to test a student’s college readiness, one set of favorable scores is all you need.

You can take a practice SAT  or  a practice ACT here.

Historically, the test that you took was determined by the schools in which you planned to apply—East coast and California schools preferred the SAT while mid-West schools preferred the ACT.  Now, schools use either test for admissions with no preference.  For more information about the history of the tests, check out this interesting blog.

Who tends to do better on the ACT?

The primary difference between the ACT and SAT is that the ACT covers more content but the questions are asked in a way that students often find more familiar or more straightforward.  For example, the ACT math section includes trigonometry, imaginary numbers, logarithms, and matrices.  These topics are not found on the SAT.  However, the way that the questions are asked on the ACT look more like what students would see on a math test in school.  For this reason, the ACT often favors students that have taken a rigorous course load in school but do not test well on tests that require a lot of logic and reasoning skills like the SAT.

Another big difference is that the ACT does not penalize students for guessing incorrectly while the SAT deducts ¼ raw score points for each incorrect answer.  This can add up to a large scaled deduction.  Leaving questions blank on a test is not an idea that students are familiar with in school so it can be tricky to decide whether to guess or omit on top of the pressure of taking the test in the first place.

The ACT also does not have any compare/contrast passages or vocabulary questions.  These are often two of the most challenging areas of the SAT Critical Reading section so that can be helpful for some students.

Who tends to do better on the SAT?

The ACT has more questions in less time.  For example, the writing multiple choice section allows an average of 36 seconds per question on the ACT but about 43 seconds per question on the SAT.  For this reason, students that have a lot of difficulty with time management on tests often have more difficulty on the ACT. 

Also, as mentioned, the ACT does have more content.  Students that have taken a less rigorous curriculum may find the ACT more challenging.  The ACT also includes a science section.  The primary skills needed to be successful on this section are a basic understanding of experimental design and the ability to interpret data tables and graphs.  This does not require a lot of general science knowledge but it can be challenging for students that are not familiar with lab sciences.

Scoring:

As mentioned, there is a benefit to the ACT in that students are not penalized for guessing incorrectly.  On the SAT, students lose points for guessing incorrectly but earn 0 points for leaving a question blank.  In school, students are taught to do their best and put an answer for everything so this is not an idea that students are familiar with.

However, the SAT has a benefit in how the scores are combined across test dates.  On the SAT, there are three scores of 800 each for a total of 2400 points.  Most schools will combine the highest math section, highest reading section, and highest writing section even if they are taken from different dates for admissions decisions.  For example, if these were a student’s scores:

 

Math

Reading

Writing

March

650

580

450

May

600

620

570

October

620

640

550

 

Then, the overall score would be the highest section, which is a total score of 1860.  This is higher than any single date.

On the ACT, the score is a composite score from 0-36.  This means that the 4 scores from reading, English, math, and science are averaged to give you a composite score.  Most schools will not take the highest section from different dates.  Therefore, students have to do well on all 4 sections on the same test date

Overall, there is no downside to trying both tests.  Determining which one highlights your strengths is a great strategy for being competitive during the college admissions process. Good Luck!

 

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Reality TV: Joy or Junk?

Friday, March 25th, 2011

The essay question on the March SAT has left some students feeling confused and irritated. It asked them to write an argument about reality television and its possible beneficial or negative impacts on viewers.

Controversy ensued regarding the fairness of the question. If students aren’t that familiar with reality television, are they at a disadvantage on this essay question?

Some say no. They point out that the underlying point of the essay is to choose a side of an argument and display the ability to formulate a strong written response. They also argue that it contains all the information a student would need to accurately answer it, and that actually being a reality TV watcher is immaterial. Judge for yourself. Here is the prompt:

“Reality television programs, which feature real people engaged in real activities rather than professional actors performing scripted scenes, are increasingly popular. These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives. Most people believe that the reality these shows portray is authentic, but they are being misled. How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes?

“Do people benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called reality, or are such forms of entertainment harmful?”

Follow this link and you will find a blog post arguing that the controversy is overblown. In it, Laurence Bunin, senior vice president for operations and the general manager of the SAT Program at the College Board, is quoted giving the following example:

“If presented with a topic about balancing the risk of climbing a mountain with the reward of reaching the summit, for example, a good writer could compose a strong essay without ever having reached the summit of Mount Everest.”

Fair enough. But let us raise a couple points:

How are students supposed to support their essay answer with legitimate literary, historical, or personal concrete examples if they know nothing about reality TV? A risk/reward analysis of mountain climbing requires considerably less knowledge than a pro/con debate over reality television after all. Reality television isn’t a “thing” to consider. It’s a diverse group of programs, some of which may have more merit than others.

It’s also fair to consider whether we have reached a new low when a supporting example on a college entrance exam could be a drunken episode of “Jersey Shore” or a superficial episode of “The Bachelor.”

Not every student taking the March SAT had to answer the reality TV question. But whatever the prompt, the essay answer is high stakes. It accounts for 33 percent of a student’s score on the writing portion, which makes up 800 out of the 2,400 points one can get on the SAT. Students will learn March 31 how they fared.

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