THE ROAD AHEAD Navigating College Admission Tests Adam Ingersoll - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

THE ROAD AHEAD Navigating College Admission Tests Adam Ingersoll Co-Founder & Principal Compass Education Group

Unprecedented Pressure? New York Times , “High School Seniors’ Agony” Written in 1957 “Competition for college admission has created an unprecedented time of intense worry.” “ Getting into college has never been so competitive. ” “Standards have shot up. Parents who got into top notch colleges with average grades and good overall qualifications cannot understand why their kids can’t.”

ßà Complexity Flexibility ßà FREQUENT QUESTIONS ABOUT TESTING PRACTICAL TACTICAL Do I need to take admission tests? If optional, should I submit my scores? • • • Should I take the SAT, ACT, or both? • When should I begin/end my testing & prep? • Is the SAT or ACT essay necessary? • How many times should I test? • Are Subject Tests required? • Which colleges require reporting all scores? Does the ACT replace Subject Tests? Do colleges combine scores across dates? • • Easier ¡than ¡ever ¡to ¡apply ¡. ¡. ¡. ¡ ¡ ¡. ¡. ¡. ¡harder ¡than ¡ever ¡to ¡predict. ¡

TESTING TURMOIL A RECENT RETROSPECTIVE J u n S ‘ 1 5 A T : t e s t m i s p r i n t ¡ July ‘15: SAT section from June thrown out ¡ Fall ‘15: ACT & SAT score reporting delays ¡ Fall ‘15: ACT essay scoring issues (ongoing) ¡ Fall ‘15: Widespread reports of cheating on SAT overseas ¡ Nov ‘15: Addl. SAT practice tests through Khan canceled ¡ Dec ‘15: PSAT score reporting delay ¡ Mar ‘16: New SAT debuts, 10 week wait for scores ¡ Jul ’16: Reuters uncovers international ACT cheating scandal in program owned by ACT, Inc ¡ Aug ’16: Ex-College Board employee’s home raided by FBI ¡

Test Requirements ¡ See pages 58–63 of Compass Guide

Test Requirements ¡ Test Requirements 35 ¡ 7 ¡ 850 ¡ 1,450 ¡ SAT or ACT Required Test Optional Subject Tests ACT instead of Subject Tests See pages 4-6 of Compass Guide

Test-Optional ¡ Wesleyan University Lewis & Clark College Connecticut College Washington and Je ff erson College Wake Forest University Worcester Polytechnic Institute Brandeis University American

Test-Optional: The Cynical Perspective “ Why Test-Optional Colleges are Too Good to Be True ” TeenLife.com, May 2016 “ Even though colleges tell students submitting scores is optional, it signals the college that the student has something to hide. Colleges typically assume these students have low test scores .” Suzanne Sha ff er, IEC “… applicants to ODU and elsewhere who don't submit scores will be particularly scrutinized for other evidence of potential for success .” Jane H. Dane, VP Enrollment Management

Holistic Review ¡ GPA Rigor Test Scores Demonstrated interest Demonstrated interest Recommendation L ecommendation Letters etters Personal Essay ersonal Essay Extracurriculars Extracurriculars Work / Internships ork / Internships Interview Interview Class R Class Rank ank AP/IB Scores AP/IB Scores Legacy S egacy Status tatus Financial Need Financial Need

Grade Inflation ¡

Standardized Tests Resist Inflation ¡ SAT (2015)

ACT Score Distribution ¡

Research your colleges . . . ¡ ü Are ¡you ¡test-­‑op4onal ¡/ ¡flexible? ¡ ü Do ¡You ¡Super-­‑Score? ¡ ü Score ¡Choice? ¡ ü Essay ¡Requirements? ¡ ü Subject ¡Test ¡Policies? ¡ ü Fall ¡Tes4ng ¡/ ¡Early ¡Decision ¡Deadlines? ¡ ¡

ACT, SAT, or Both?

SAT vs. ACT Trends at Compass

ACT’s Record Growth

Increase in ACT 36s

Seniors: Compromised Choices “Old SAT” “New SAT” ACT Deep reserve of practice Was o ff ered for the last Practice tests limited tests available time in January 2016 and in “beta” form Prep materials and Accelerated timeline Preliminary scales are o ff erings are has been problematic speculative, so accurate well-established for some students comparisons are di ffi cult All test dates available Was recommended March scores delayed with prompt reporting only for students with until mid-May of scores high initial scores

Juniors/ Juniors/Sophs Sophs: Clearer Choices : Clearer Choices X “Old SAT” SAT ACT Deep reserve of practice Discontinued as of Several “live” tests now tests available but January 2016 available, and practice growing stale test library is growing Prep curricula and Scaling is finalized but methods slightly more concordance to ACT is mature than new SAT “synthetic” & confusing All test dates available All test dates available w/ with prompt reporting new August date, but of scores score reporting is slow

“How can you tell them apart?”

Who Favors the SAT and Why? PSAT/practice test scores clearly stronger than ACT SAT pacing and structure feels more comfortable Dread of ACT Science can’t be overcome Will need SAT for National Merit Scholarship Unavoidable conflicts with ACT dates Special accommodations granted by SAT but not ACT Believer in “no stone left unturned” approach

PSAT Score Interpretation ¡

Vertical Alignment ¡ See page 28 of Compass Guide

PSAT Score Interpretation ¡

National Merit Funnel See page 16 of Compass Guide

National Merit Selection Index Two students receive the same total score: 1450 STUDENT A STUDENT B 740 71 710 Reading & Writing 74 74 71 + Math + 74 740 71 710 Semifinalist in NY ¡ 216 Commended Scholar 219 To Quickly Calculate National Merit Selection Index: 1. Drop the zeros. 2. Double Reading & Writing Score. 3. ¡Add ¡together. ¡

PSAT Results – Sample Class ¡ Score Change Sophomore to Junior Year Score Change Sophomore to Junior Y ear 1520 1520 1400 1400 1100 1100 800 800 Ÿ Ÿ Sophomore PS Sophomore PSAT T n n Junior PS Junior PSAT

Comparing Test Structure ¡

Structural Highlights of New SAT ¡ ü Returns ¡to ¡the ¡1600-­‑point ¡scale ¡ ü Guessing ¡penalty ¡eliminated ¡ ü Calculator ¡and ¡non-­‑calculator ¡sec4ons ¡ ü Fewer, ¡longer ¡sec4ons; ¡Text ¡heavy ¡ ü Essay ¡is ¡op4onal ¡