A Parent’s Guide to the Admission Exams What you need to know about the SAT, ACT, and new SAT
College Admission Tests – the others SAT Subject Tests ! 1 hour tests in academic subjects (Languages, Sciences, Math, Lit, and History)
! When required, it’s usually 2 that are required ! 700 is the magic number
PSAT ! Preliminary SAT ! Entry point for some scholarships (National Merit, National Achievement, etc.)
! National Merit requires being in the top halfpercentile in your state
College Admissions Tests The big ones
SAT
ACT
! Provide universal comparison for colleges ! Both accepted at every college and university WITHOUT PREFERENCE ! They don’t get you in, but they can keep you out ! They show how good someone is at taking standardized tests
College Admission Tests Pop Quiz College admission tests… … measure intelligence? … are required by all colleges? … are the most important part of an application? … predict your college GPA? … can be prepared for? … should be prepared for? … test what you’ve learned in HS?
True
False
College Admission Tests – Pop Quiz College admission tests…
True
… measure intelligence?
! ! ! !
… are required by all colleges? … are the most important part of an application? … predict your college GPA? … can be prepared for? … should be prepared for? … test what you’ve learned in HS?
False
! ! !
What are the main factors in admission? Academic Record ! GPA ! Strength of curriculum is key
Test scores ! Competitive scores are necessary ! No “automatic admit” score
Extra-curricular activities Demographics
What’s a “good” score? 25%ile-75%ile SCHOOL
ACT
SAT
Harvard University
32-35
2120-2400
Amherst College
30-34
2020-2290
Boston College
30-33
1910-2180
95th Percentile
30
2050
Boston University
27-31
1790-2080
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
24-29
1110-1310 NO WRITING
85th Percentile
27
1850
Bridgewater State University
19-24
890-1090 NO WRITING
50th Percentile
21
1490
When Can I Take My Test? ACT ! ! ! ! ! !
Feb April June September October December
SAT
NEW SAT
May 2015 June 2015 October 2015 November 2015 ! December 2015 ! January 2016 ! ! ! !
ACT
! March 2016 ! May 2016 ! June 2016 ! October 2016 ! November 2016 ! . . .
SAT
rSAT
What’s the Same ACT
SAT New SAT
Tests math introduced in 8 – 11th grades
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Tests reading comprehension
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Tests grammar
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Aggressively timed
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Primarily multiple choice
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Required by most colleges
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Reflects what you’ve learned in school ACT
SAT
NEW SAT
What Are the Changes to the SAT? Coming March 2016 Change
Current SAT
Redesigned SAT
Scoring
2400 max over 3 sections
1600 max over 2 sections
Incorrect Answers
¼ point off for incorrect No penalty for incorrect multiple-choice answers answers
Sections
3 (Math, Reading, Writing)
2 (Math, Evidence-Based Reading & Writing)
Length
3 hours, 45 minutes
3 hours (without essay) 3 hours, 50 minutes (with essay
# of Answer Choices
5
4 10
What Are the other BIG Changes to the SAT? Coming March 2016 Change
Current SAT
Redesigned SAT
Writing
Separate scored section, not considered heavily by many colleges
Combined with Reading into a single score
Vocabulary
OH YES
Not So Much
Essay
• Mandatory • 25 mins • Opinionated
• Optional-ish • 50 mins • Analytical
Math
• LOTS of topics, 8th-10th grade math • Calculators permitted on all sections • No Trigonometry
• FEWER topics, 8th-11th grade math • Calculators permitted on one section but not the other • Trigonometry
11
ACT vs. New SAT ACT
NEW SAT
4 sections (E-M-R-S) + Optional Essay, adding up to 2 hours 55 mins without the essay, or 3 hours 25 mins with it.
4 sections (M-E-R-M) + Optional Essay, adding up to 3 hours without the essay, or 3 hours 50 mins with it.
Provides a composite score
No composite score
4 answer choices / Math has 5
4 answer choices / Math Write-Ins
No penalty for incorrect answers
No penalty for incorrect answers
Vocab not a major component
Vocab not a major component
Math tied more closely to school curriculum
Math tied more closely to school curriculum, fewer concepts than ACT(?), tougher than ACT(?)
Ability to interpret graphical Ability to interpret graphical representation of data is key to Science representation of data is important on section Math and Reading sections English section tests mechanics and rhetoric within the context of a passage
Writing section tests mechanics and rhetoric within the context of a passage 12
Why do the Changes Matter? The SAT is going to look a lot like the ACT: • 4 longer sections plus an optional essay • 4 answer choices • No guessing penalty • Less emphasis on vocabulary • Heavier emphasis on graphical representation in all sections • Similar question formats • Similar math content 13
• The Class of 2017 has to decide which test to take. • Revised PSAT will take place in October 2015 before the redesigned SAT rolls out in Spring 2016. • Not much for test prep, particularly since the SAT will remain a timed, multiple choice, high-stakes exam with little connection to curricular practices.
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REASONS NOT TO TAKE THE NEW SAT in 2016 • Who Wants to be a Guinea Pig? • Scores on the March and May Exam Will Not Be Released for more than 6 weeks • There will not be as much practice material • We won’t know exactly what the new test looks like until Spring 2016 (4+ samples released this June will help) • There’s the ACT(which has none of these problems) 15
