Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids find the ACT easier.

Very interesting! I talked to a retired T5 AO, and was told SAT is designed for testing IQ and ACT is more for knowledge check. I also noticed that most of kids I known who tried several time SAT and barely got 700 in English and can easily got 35-36 in ACT English part.

The 'old' SAT was supposedly more of an IQ test (remember the "analogy" section)? The revamped version is not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids find the ACT easier.

Very interesting! I talked to a retired T5 AO, and was told SAT is designed for testing IQ and ACT is more for knowledge check. I also noticed that most of kids I known who tried several time SAT and barely got 700 in English and can easily got 35-36 in ACT English part.

There's no way you'd ever get a 35-36 with your poor English.

Anonymous wrote:Most kids find the ACT easier.

Very interesting! I talked to a retired T5 AO, and was told SAT is designed for testing IQ and ACT is more for knowledge check. I also noticed that most of kids I known who tried several time SAT and barely got 700 in English and can easily got 35-36 in ACT English part.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My son got hooked on the British East India Co. last year in World History. He read about it on his own and talked about it (and he rarely talks about school).

And see, this is the kind of thing that the SAT/ACT will never measure. It's a complete shame that kids like this go unrecognized.
PP

Another way to look at it: kids like this CAN get this interest recognized by participating in activities like National History Day, and they can also write about their interests in their essays. Part of the admissions process for kids is figuring out how they stand out from their peers and how to share that in their applications.

I’m the “Ottoman Empire” poster, and my DC has earned awards in Scholar’s Bowl and Model UN, but I’m also hoping that the teacher recommendations help with this, as well. If my DC’s letters match what the teachers have said to me orally, they will reflect this. However, that’s tricky, because at the end of the day it’s luck to get a teacher that “gets” your kid and is willing to write a good letter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My son got hooked on the British East India Co. last year in World History. He read about it on his own and talked about it (and he rarely talks about school).

And see, this is the kind of thing that the SAT/ACT will never measure. It's a complete shame that kids like this go unrecognized.
PP

Another way to look at it: kids like this CAN get this interest recognized by participating in activities like National History Day, and they can also write about their interests in their essays. Part of the admissions process for kids is figuring out how they stand out from their peers and how to share that in their applications.

I didn't realize that the ACT favors speed, but now it all makes sense. Child 1 (severe ADD, extended time) got an okay SAT score after taking it twice (1350), but a composite score of 33 (34/34/33) on the ACT. Child 2 (magnet kid, slow processing speed, no accommodations) hated the ACT and after one practice test refused to have anything more to do with it. Took the SAT once, got 1550.