Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the kids taking the December ACT mostly juniors or seniors?

Juniors. Mine just got October scores back: 36, 34, 33– and a 26 in science. *facepalm*. Humanities kid, but her practice tests were much better. She wants a retake now while she’s prepped. Finger crossed. F

Slightly off-topic, but if you makes you feel any better, this was my kid almost exactly - 35 (E), 33 (M), 36 (R) 29 (S) last December. Took it a second time - science went down, the rest stayed exactly the same. Third time science was a 30, and the rest stayed the same. She was happy to finally break 30 and called it a day! DC did tell me after the second attempt that she wasn't actually reading the science prompts/graphs, she just read the questions and then tried to find the answer.

Anonymous wrote:For my junior I’m inclined to hold off on testing until spring, summer and/or next fall. Many of their friends tested already this fall, but it doesn’t feel right for DC. Anyone else taking a similar approach?

My second kid is a junior. My oldest is a college freshman. For a kid who is in pre-calc as a junior and missed math last spring, a spring test might make sense. But if you can get at a solid baseline score to build on in fall if junior year, it helps you get a handle on what schools your kid is competitive for and something to superscore off of. My oldest got a 1540 fall of junior year and was done. My current junior got a 33 on the fall ACT, but is in pre-calc and was missing material in math. 35 in ERW, 30 in STEM. All the juniors she knows have at least one ACT or SAT test. Most are planning to retake in April or June, but they have a place to start.

It seems risky to wait until fall of senior year to get the first score. What if your kid has an off day? You are out of time.

That said, the only fall Administration left is December. And those are mostly full and starting to cancel. You probably have no choice but to,wait until next spring.

For my junior I’m inclined to hold off on testing until spring, summer and/or next fall. Many of their friends tested already this fall, but it doesn’t feel right for DC. Anyone else taking a similar approach?

My junior signed up for a December 12 ACT and the location has been cancelled. But we were reassigned to another location. Not ideal location but nothing else left in the state of MD.

Mine is a senior. He’s taken one SAT last December and didn’t do so hot.

All other tests were canceled or sold out.

For those whose kids have felt ready to test, how much prep did they do? Like did they take 3 practice tests and spend a few hours brushing up where there were issues, or was it a much more of a time and effort commitment? Has been a challenge for DC to get engaged on test prep. Very engaged in school, just not finding space for test prep.

I wouldn’t count on private schools- parent of senior here who had so many registrations cancelled. We are done thank goodness. Most likely they will offer just separate administrations for their students. For example Friends Meeting House was closed, Good Counsel etc. Seriously go to VA PA or WV if it’s important. If it’s like last year Dec may be your last shot for a while.

Anonymous wrote:Are the kids taking the December ACT mostly juniors or seniors?

Juniors. Mine just got October scores back: 36, 34, 33– and a 26 in science. *facepalm*. Humanities kid, but her practice tests were much better. She wants a retake now while she’s prepped. Finger crossed. F

Are the kids taking the December ACT mostly juniors or seniors?

Hoping that the December test will be on. We signed up a private school location Bethesda location in hopes they might have more independence to stay open for the test.

An SAT (with masks and distancing) should be reasonable to control. The kids are sitting and just taking a test, so it should be easy to control social distancing.

I hope they go forward with December. These poor kids have worked so hard this year and it would be just another pressure.

DS had his cancelled, but we were able to move it.

I think with case spikes MCPS would be a big risk or probably state of Maryland. For parents of juniors, I would recommend trying to find a place that’s not taking COVID as seriously. My DD went to Waynesboro PA in August.

Yorktown HS posted this week that no ACT or SATs will be administered there until further notice. Does that mean the December SAT is a no-go for sure?

No, as of today still on.

DC is a junior registered for both. Anyone already hear of cancellations? Also, anyone know if there is a no-show penalty for either?