SAT/ACT strategy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Practice test on both. It was explained to me:
25% do better on SAT (kids who have a problem with time, kids who have pretty good reasoning and inferential reading skills)
50% do the same
25% do better on ACT (kids who have trouble with non-calculator math, kids who do better on reading bc no inferential skills are required - the answers are there if you have time to get through them; kids with time extensions do VERY WELL on ACT because time is eliminated as a factor).

My first found SAT to be his natural test. He did not study for ACT.

My second did pretty bad on practice teste for SAT and ACT, but coaching thought ACT was much more teachable. Ended up with a 32.

My third did same on both. Decided to move forward with SAT because had the added advantage of prepping for PSAT as a subset of SAT prep. 1500+ and national merit commended.

Find out your test! Even if your kid hates having to sit at a testing center for 5 hours on a Saturday.

This is the hack used by half the kids we know. ACT with extended time.

YMMV, but the switch to digital SAT was a better fit for my extended time student earlier this year. DC liked the online calculator better for math and preferred the shorter test duration.

I believe the ACT is switching to digital but am not sure about timing and if they are also shortening the test duration.

[Anonymous]

Erica Meltzer for verbal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Practice test on both. It was explained to me:
25% do better on SAT (kids who have a problem with time, kids who have pretty good reasoning and inferential reading skills)
50% do the same
25% do better on ACT (kids who have trouble with non-calculator math, kids who do better on reading bc no inferential skills are required - the answers are there if you have time to get through them; kids with time extensions do VERY WELL on ACT because time is eliminated as a factor).

My first found SAT to be his natural test. He did not study for ACT.

My second did pretty bad on practice teste for SAT and ACT, but coaching thought ACT was much more teachable. Ended up with a 32.

My third did same on both. Decided to move forward with SAT because had the added advantage of prepping for PSAT as a subset of SAT prep. 1500+ and national merit commended.

Find out your test! Even if your kid hates having to sit at a testing center for 5 hours on a Saturday.

This is the hack used by half the kids we know. ACT with extended time.

YMMV, but the switch to digital SAT was a better fit for my extended time student earlier this year. DC liked the online calculator better for math and preferred the shorter test duration.

I believe the ACT is switching to digital but am not sure about timing and if they are also shortening the test duration.

+1 for my dyslexic kid with extra time.

[Anonymous]

The best way to improve verbal scores is to consistently read challenging books for pleasure.

[Anonymous]

My 11th grader prepped over summer, took PSAT in Oct (check your school's dates), and then took Nov and Dec SAT.

The SAT is designed to be taken spring-ish of 11th grade, so getting close to that might maximize verbal (since reading etc really helps). My kid is in a winter sport and had AP tests, so we didn't do 11th grade spring for SAT.

It was helpful to have at least one score going by mid-11th grade, just to get a sense of where kiddo stats might land.

[Anonymous]

My daughter took both ACT and SAT mock tests in late spring of sophomore year to determine which test fit her best. After we decided to do ACT, she prepped over the summer before junior year and took the September ACT, scoring a 34. Retook again in December and got another 34 with a 35 superscore. All her school choices accept superscore, so she is set.

We decided to do it earlier than later because daughter is already in AP calc and we felt the math would become more challenging as she had not taken basic algebra and geometry in a couple of years.

You can go to any tutoring company where they give free mock tests and let them give you a recommendation. You don't have to necessarily move forward with the tutoring, but you will have good information on which test is best for your child.

[Anonymous]

Prep the summer before junior year, took the test in August, once and done

[Anonymous]

If verbal is the concern I’d plan to do at least one test later in junior year or even summer before senior year. If verbal is not the concern just study over the summer and do it early junior year.

[Anonymous]

Have your kid self-assess whether they can study on their own, need a group, or need one on one tutoring. Also it is useful if they self-assess whether time is better spent studying the test concepts or the test design.

Both my kids self-studied but did not approach their study priorities the same way. First kid almost exclusively studied the test design and got a 1550+. Other kid needed to dig in to study math concepts and also spent a bit of time learning about the test design and got a 1450+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have your kid self-assess whether they can study on their own, need a group, or need one on one tutoring. Also it is useful if they self-assess whether time is better spent studying the test concepts or the test design.

Both my kids self-studied but did not approach their study priorities the same way. First kid almost exclusively studied the test design and got a 1550+. Other kid needed to dig in to study math concepts and also spent a bit of time learning about the test design and got a 1450+.

The student cannot self-assess whether they would or would not benefit from tutoring. It is only once you've had the tutoring that you know first hand, what it involves and whether you benefit from it or not. The tricks the tutors tell you are not readily available elsewhere. We checked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If verbal is the concern I’d plan to do at least one test later in junior year or even summer before senior year. If verbal is not the concern just study over the summer and do it early junior year.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have your kid self-assess whether they can study on their own, need a group, or need one on one tutoring. Also it is useful if they self-assess whether time is better spent studying the test concepts or the test design.

Both my kids self-studied but did not approach their study priorities the same way. First kid almost exclusively studied the test design and got a 1550+. Other kid needed to dig in to study math concepts and also spent a bit of time learning about the test design and got a 1450+.

The student cannot self-assess whether they would or would not benefit from tutoring. It is only once you've had the tutoring that you know first hand, what it involves and whether you benefit from it or not. The tricks the tutors tell you are not readily available elsewhere. We checked.

Any tutors that you can recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If verbal is the concern I’d plan to do at least one test later in junior year or even summer before senior year. If verbal is not the concern just study over the summer and do it early junior year.

Why?

DP. Depends on what they get Aug of junior year, but many kids end up increasing their verbal skills via AP classes like APUSH and AP Lang.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have your kid self-assess whether they can study on their own, need a group, or need one on one tutoring. Also it is useful if they self-assess whether time is better spent studying the test concepts or the test design.

Both my kids self-studied but did not approach their study priorities the same way. First kid almost exclusively studied the test design and got a 1550+. Other kid needed to dig in to study math concepts and also spent a bit of time learning about the test design and got a 1450+.

The student cannot self-assess whether they would or would not benefit from tutoring. It is only once you've had the tutoring that you know first hand, what it involves and whether you benefit from it or not. The tricks the tutors tell you are not readily available elsewhere. We checked.

I will make sure to tell this to my NMSF, 1580 single sitting kid who self-studied from a book last summer without ever meeting a tutor.