An ACT Question

[Momof3Maidens]

My daughter is scheduled to take the ACT in December. There is an option for the ACT (no writing ) or the ACT Plus Writing- which would you recommend? Does it bump the score if the writing is included ? She's a good writer so she was wondering. What do you ladies suggest? Thanks everyone!

[regentrude]

Some universities want to see either an SAT or the ACT with writing.

For some universities, the ACT with writing can fulfill the standardized test requirements in lieu of SAT + several subject SATs.

 

She should check with the school she is interested in.

My DD will take the ACT with writing, just to be on the safe side. From what I learned, the writing portion does not affect the composite score.

[creekland]

Some universities want to see either an SAT or the ACT with writing.

For some universities, the ACT with writing can fulfill the standardized test requirements in lieu of SAT + several subject SATs.

 

She should check with the school she is interested in.

My DD will take the ACT with writing, just to be on the safe side. From what I learned, the writing portion does not affect the composite score.

 

:iagree: Since some schools require the ACT with writing, I've had my guys choose that option. When they took their tests they weren't sure which colleges interested them.

 

The writing portion does not affect the Composite score at all. It's extra for colleges who want it. Some use it for placement rather than admissions.

[Jane in NC]

My son thought that the ACT writing prompt was strange, more geared to traditionally schooled students. You might want to look at some of the prep books for examples if you choose to go this route.

[regentrude]

My son thought that the ACT writing prompt was strange, more geared to traditionally schooled students. You might want to look at some of the prep books for examples if you choose to go this route.

 

Not just his experience, but meant to be like this. The ACT writing prompts "describe an issue relevant to a high school student" and ask about your perspective on this issue.

There are lists of former prompts available, but I don't have any links right now. I have seen stuff like: fast food in schools, school uniforms, school newspaper censorship, soda in schools, advertisement in schools, longer school day, internet censorship, school libraries, curfews for minors...

[Teachin'Mine]

I was wrong! The writing score does not affect the composite. There's only one composite score. (I really thought I saw two on the score page ...)

 

I'd recommend taking it with the writing if for nothing else than the practice. Some colleges want the ACT or SAT taken with the writing, and others don't require it. But the PSAT doesn't include writing, so it's a good chance to practice for the SAT writing. Did that make sense?

Edited November 19, 2011 by Teachin'Mine
Corrected misinformation

[cbollin]

Not just his experience, but meant to be like this. The ACT writing prompts "describe an issue relevant to a high school student" and ask about your perspective on this issue.

There are lists of former prompts available, but I don't have any links right now. I have seen stuff like: fast food in schools, school uniforms, school newspaper censorship, soda in schools, advertisement in schools, longer school day, internet censorship, school libraries, curfews for minors...

 

here are some of those links

 

http://www.actstudent.org/writing/sample/index.html

and

http://testprep.about.com/od/act/tp/Act-Writing-Sample-Essay-Topics.htm

 

http://startwhereyouarevtpro.org/Files/ACT%20writing%20prompts%20for%20practice4.pdf

 

Pick a side, any side

 

-crystal

[ks-sunflower]

Jane in NC- my dd also thought the ACT writing prompt was weird - something about whether students who didn't spend four years in high school missed out on important social, academic, etc. opportunities. My dd really let loose on that one!

[Momof3Maidens]

Thank you all so much for your responses. I was thinking along those lines too about just going ahead and having her do the writing part. It looks like she'll be taking it in February though instead of December.

 

From the examples given on the website, it doesn't seem like it would give a very good assessment of a student's ability to write but that's just my opinion.

 

She hasn't decided on any one college as of yet, so including the writing without knowing whether the college she chooses will require it or not would be wise.

(I know that had to be a run-on sentence :)

 

Thank you all again!

[ereks mom]

ER's 1st choice college did not require the writing portion of the ACT, but his 2nd choice college did. He was 99% certain he would attend his 1st choice college, but decided to take the writing portion of the ACT anyway. As it turned out, his 1st choice college eliminated his major, and he had to attend his 2nd choice college after all. So he was glad he had taken the writing test.

[TravelingChris]

I find the ACT writing prompts to be a lot better than the SAT ones. The writing prompts for ACT are about issues that either most kids have thought about or can make up their minds about really quickly and then concentrate on the writing. THe SAT ones are much more philosophical and I think they are much harder to do well for kids who are good writers but have a more practical bent.

[Jane in NC]

I find the ACT writing prompts to be a lot better than the SAT ones. The writing prompts for ACT are about issues that either most kids have thought about or can make up their minds about really quickly and then concentrate on the writing. THe SAT ones are much more philosophical and I think they are much harder to do well for kids who are good writers but have a more practical bent.

 

So much of this depends on personality, I suppose. My son preferred the SAT writing prompts. He also had a higher writing score on the SAT which we believe was due to the fact that this part of the exam was given at the beginning of the testing period whereas the ACT writing portion was given at the end when he was so hungry he could have eaten his test booklet.

 

So while The Boy preferred the SAT writing exam over the ACT, he preferred the structure of the ACT. The SAT is given in a series of 20-25 minute subtests whereas the ACT is given in 50-60 subtests. With the ACT, you do the math test and you are done with math. Move on to the next topic. Not so with the SAT.

 

I do think that these things can influence outcomes for our students so it is wise for students to at least try sample versions of both tests to determine a good "fit".

[Teachin'Mine]

So much of this depends on personality, I suppose. My son preferred the SAT writing prompts. He also had a higher writing score on the SAT which we believe was due to the fact that this part of the exam was given at the beginning of the testing period whereas the ACT writing portion was given at the end when he was so hungry he could have eaten his test booklet.

 

So while The Boy preferred the SAT writing exam over the ACT, he preferred the structure of the ACT. The SAT is given in a series of 20-25 minute subtests whereas the ACT is given in 50-60 subtests. With the ACT, you do the math test and you are done with math. Move on to the next topic. Not so with the SAT.

 

I do think that these things can influence outcomes for our students so it is wise for students to at least try sample versions of both tests to determine a good "fit".

 

I think a lot of the testing results are dependent on when each section of the test is given. The last section or two definitely suffer just based on the time they're given. :tongue_smilie: The SAT test givers were much more break friendly - the ACT ones were not at all. Those who left the room during the five minute break to use the restroom, came back while the next section of the test was already underway.