SAT/ACT test strategy
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Anonymous
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Can some BTDT parents advise me on the following:
- how do you decide if your kid should take the ACT in addition to the SAT? - I have some timing questions for the SAT. I would anticipate my kid needing a decent amount of prep/studying for the SAT verbal but less for the math. He is a sophomore now, in Honors Algebra/Trig. He's always taken honors math, always gotten As without additional tutoring or help. Reading/English is definitely weaker for him. He is a busy kid with sports and activities outside of school (especially between November and May of the school year - those are his sports seasons), so I dread the thought of adding test prep sessions during the school year. Would it make sense for him to take test prep in the summer between junior/senior year and then take the SAT in August of senior year? Would he have the option to take it again prior to November 1 application deadlines if it didn't go well? Any thoughts on timing/scheduling would be great. Thank you! |
Anonymous
| My advice is to have him prep this summer (more than 3 months of focused prep is unnecessary) - that way he is not juggling it with academic classes. The way to decide on which test is to take diagnostic practice tests of each - w/o any prep - and see which you do better on. If a tossup, I would personally choose the SAT, as it is digital and shorter. Then he can take the test for real in Oct or Nov of junior year, and has the opportunity to retake if necessary in December or March or May. I would not advise waiting until senior year to test. |
Anonymous
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Stronger at science than math (ACT removes half the math and puts in science, compared to SAT)
Near perfect 1570 SAT is actually perfect 36 ACT. |
Anonymous
Agree with this. My kid took a few SAT practice tests in spring of sophomore year and got nearly identical scores every time. Took the SAT at the end of sophomore year, same thing. Took an ACT practice test and did significantly better on most sections and actually liked it better than the SAT, despite the ACT being longer. Decided to work with a tutor for six weeks during the summer to prep for September ACT; an hour/week with the tutor and another 1-3 hours of practice. Hit target score in one sitting and is done. Definitely use the summer; it’s such a relief not to have to think about it during the school year. |
Anonymous
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9:02 poster here and one more thing—my kid has always been a math whiz, and I would have said reading was weaker. But SAT practice tests had nearly identical scores on the two sections, and when they took the ACT practice test with no prep they did better on reading than math. Sessions with tutor revealed that kid had forgotten some geometry concepts and that kid was struggling with time, leaving too little time for the hard questions at the end.
So don’t assume academic strengths will transfer as expected to the test. |
Anonymous
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There was really no strategy for anything specific. From and early age, I had put together curriculum and syllabus for my children to supplement (and more) what my kids were getting in the US public school by drawing on the academics of several countries - India, Singapore and UK.
Using apps like quizlet, I was able to test content that I taught in all subjects in multi-choice and BCR formats. By the time my kids were in MS, standardize tests of any kind was not a big deal. They aimed to be NMS semifinalists and so they basically used Khan Academy and CollegeBoard free tests. |
Anonymous
| Have him take both next spring and see what he likes better. Prep over the summer and take the aug/sep/oct tests depending on which one he goes with. |
Anonymous
This advice obviously comes from someone benefiting from unearned white / UMC privilege. |
Anonymous
Not PP, but absolutely, many of us on here do. That’s one of the many problems with standardized tests! Based on OP’s post, I’m guessing they also have unearned white/UMC privilege. So we are answering the question they asked in that context. |
Anonymous
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Prep this summer and take in August/Sept of junior year. I would do SAT for a couple of reasons: it will have been digital for longer, so it will be more predictable, and prepping for the SAT will also help with the PSAT. But if your kid is a fast worker, he might prefer the ACT, which is easier but has more time pressure.
My busy junior prepped for the ACT in July/August (currently on paper but moving to digital) and took it in Sept, and is one and done. |
Anonymous
The concordance table indicates so, but I wonder if 36 with perfect 36 subparts is distinguishable - as in, maybe 1570 = 36 where the subparts are 36, 35, 36, 35, but 1600 is equivalent to the 36 with perfect 36 subparts achievement? |
Anonymous
You are an idiot. This is good advice from someone who is thinking ahead. Idiots like you deserve all the scorn you get. |
Anonymous
Maybe, but the official concordance has a 36 ACT as a 1590 SAT. I don't think anyone analyzes beyond that. https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/ACT-SAT-Concordance-Tables.pdf Anyway, my kid took two practice tests of each. He was 1500-1550 on SAT practice and got 36s in both his ACT practice tests. Feeling the ACT was more of a sure thing, and didn't demand prep beyond an hour or so refreshing his memory on math formulas, he took that exam. Some kids just do a little better on one or the other. A few practice tests should give you a sense. |
Anonymous
As for the timing, DC took it spring junior year so he could retake in August if necessary. After that might be pushing it with a November deadline. |
Anonymous
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I’d advise doing the main prep the summer before junior year, especially if there’s a chance they may do well enough on the PSAT for NMSF. Particularly if math is less likely to be an issue.
The PSAT verbal score is weighted over the math, so getting that prep in beforehand will 1) increase their chances of a good PSAT score; and 2) provide a good diagnostic for any remaining tweaks needed before taking the real thing. Then I’d take the first SAT no later than early spring of junior year. Many schools now have an in-house test date, so that’s a good place as any to start, if it’s available. If one or two spring sittings give good results, then you’re all set for applications in the fall. But if they still need more prep, that can happen over the summer, and they can retake in August before senior year (it will fill up fast, so register as soon as it opens!), so results will be back in plenty of time for a potential ED application. So many kids are doing ED/EA applications these days, it’s good to have that test score in nailed down before fall of senior year. Even if you’re only doing RD applications, it’s still hard to even start narrowing your likely/target/reach lists if you’re unsure what the test scores will ultimately be. My kid is a senior, and I can’t imagine being where we are right now with their SAT scores still up in the air. The only reason I could think of to wait is if they were taking less-accelerated math classes, and might not have covered some key concepts yet. So not the case for OP’s kid. Mine took the ACT pretty much cold, “just to see,” and ended up doing comparably better than their multi-sitting, prepped SAT. So you just never know—it really depends on the student’s strengths and weaknesses. |