Archive: Around Town

Decisions, decisions...What college admissions tests should you take? Most colleges today accept either the ACT with writing or the SAT I in fulfillment of their testing requirement. An important point to note is that only the ACT with writing is equivalent to the SATI. I generally recommend that students try both tests once to see which one better fits their learning style. The SATI is more theoretical and vocabulary rich. The ACT is content based and more similar to high school exams. The ACT has a "science" section in addition to the verbal and math sections that involves data and graph interpretation.

Sandi (not her real name) is similar to a number of students I have worked with who have done well in their high school classes but do poorly on standardized tests like the SAT. Sandi was disappointed in her SAT and her ACT scores based on the test statistics of admitted students for colleges she was interested in. However, she found the ACT less "tricky" and found the reading passages easier to understand. She also liked the fact that no points were taken off for wrong answers. Sandi studied a book containing several practice ACTS in preparation for a second ACT test over a period of 6 weeks and was able to improve her score by 25%.

 

Mark (not his real name) was a different type of test taker. He was a confident test taker who had always done well on standardized tests. He was also an avid reader who spent many hours of free time reading books about the Civil War. He chose to take the SATI because the format was similar to the PSAT which he had scored high on. Because Mark was hoping to get merit college scholarship money he chose to work intensively with a tutor for a month. Mark was happy with his results. He scored in the 95th percentile on the verbal and math portions and in the 90th on the reading.

So what are SATIIs and why should you consider taking them? SAT II exams used to be called Subject tests. They are approximately one hour exams on specific topics such as U. S. History, Math, and Spanish. A small group of colleges and universities require SATII exams including the Ivy League and selective liberal arts colleges such as Amherst College and Wesleyan University.

 

What are your options if you are not a good test taker? Most students achieve a higher score the second time IF they spend time studying for the test so it is wise to take the test you prefer at least twice. A third testing might be advisable if you felt sick on the day of the test, got off track on your scoring sheet, or have a minimum score in mind to remain competitive for certain scholarships.

 

Test taking anxiety and certain learning styles affect how well students do on standardized tests. Despite their best efforts, some students do not perform well. A number of colleges have become "test optional" since several research studies show that there is little correlation between standardized test performance and the grades of college students. Bates College in Lewiston, ME was an early member in the "test optional" movement and has not seen a drop in performance of its students. Currently there are over 700 members of the test optional movement with an online list accessible at fairtest.org . Even with the availability of all those test optional colleges it is a good idea to take the standardized tests at least once since they are required for many scholarships. Keep in mind that standardized test only test a narrow set of skills, not intelligence. Good luck with the bubble sheets!

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