Hot Lava Mama Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 I'm not as familiar with this test as the SAT. It appears that colleges will accept both. My understanding is that the ACT has science questions that the SAT doesn't. What is the case with the testing as far as reporting to the colleges. For example, ds will do SAT when he is ready in the 12th grade so that he doesn't have a lot of lower scores when he is "practicing" in younger years. (I do understand that some colleges "super score", while others make you report all scores and will see lower "practice runs.")Can he take the ACT (say in 10th grade) and NOT have the scores reported if he does poorly? What is the general suggestion with this test? Take it a lot for practice or wait until you are closer to the time when you need it and try? Thanks! Hot Lava Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Some students do better on one and some on the other. My dc took the exam more than once. I wouldn't wait and just do them once in 12 grade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 We just had our first experience with the ACT in April for both Dc's and it went well. Our understanding is that the scores do not have to be reported unless we choose to have that date reported. Both dc's received scores that were high enough so testing again is optional so taking it before senior year means that we will have one less thing to do later. You only report the dates you wish. No superscores. I have read board stories of a school or two that requires all scores be submitted but can't remember which....something about having to sign a statement that you are submitting everything. Does Not appear to affect most. Most likely they will take it one more time with the writing exam included. Our first aim was a clean exam with a score high enough for admittance to the Uni they want to attend. That box was checked. We aren't sure that they won't change their minds and want a Uni that requires writing so will do one with just in case. The writing section seems to be the hardest to predict beforehand. We did some work with prep books and they did pretty much as expected. There was one area in the science section that had a type of graph neither had ever seen. It threw dd completely off course and her science score was a bit lower then she wanted. If we have time in the fall she wants to try for a higher science score on her four subject version but one more time will be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Unless you live in a very rural area, you should be able to find free practice tests to register for. These are usually hosted by Princeton Review and maybe Kaplan. I definitely wouldn't take the real test 'a lot' for practice. Google "SAT vs ACT" for help figuring out which test to focus on. If he's still unsure, check out a book on each test from the library and take a sample test. I don't see any benefit to taking the actual test in each format. Be aware that waiting until 12th grade to test will knock him out of the running for many scholarships and special programs; they often have very early application and/or priority dates. ime, the more selective the college, the more likely that they will require you to submit all official test scores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Free practice tests for the ACT: http://www.badtesttakers.com/resources/ Becoming familiar with the tests and practicing before hand definitely helps your score. One of the biggest parts doing well on SAT/ACT testing is knowing how to "read" the test. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 If you take it several times & want to eliminate the older test scores, ACT has a score delete feature. If they've deleted the scores, those tests don't exist to be sent to colleges that request them all. Just FYI. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 You only report the dates you wish. No superscores. I have read board stories of a school or two that requires all scores be submitted but can't remember which....something about having to sign a statement that you are submitting everything. Does Not appear to affect most. I just asked about this sin another thread, as my dd had super-high scores in Science and Reading, and just good scores in Math and English. Apparently some schools are just starting to superscore the ACT; it appears that her two top choices are among them, so we're having her take it again (and she didn't do the writing section the first time). Here's a good list. More schools are listed in the comments section. Here's another. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 The science section on the ACT is pretty idiosyncratic, so I would definitely have your son do some practice prior just to become more familiar with the format. There are tons of videos on Youtube to help prepare, and check with your library. Many libraries have prep books, and may have practice test options either in person or online. A benefit to the ACT vs SAT is that some schools who ask for SAT subject tests (either from all applicants or just homeschoolers) along with the SAT will accept just the ACT (usually with writing) instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I would very much encourage you to look at when he's taking tests vs application deadlines, scholarship deadlines and possible summer programs. Tests are not offered every single month. Scores take 3-4 weeks to come out. You may also find that he needs SAT subject tests for some schools. These are offered at the same time as the SAT reasoning test. So a student can only take one in a given month. It might be better to take at least one exam in spring of junior year. It may help keep some of the pressure off of any given sitting. For example the first fall exam is usually Oct. scores would come out just before any Nov 1 scholarship or application deadlines. But there would be no time to try for a better score or to recover from an early snow storm, power outage, or sick kid. The exam before Oct is back in June of junior year. (We had several time conflicts with both June and May dates. Also one subject test, Latin is only offered twice a year. Some modern languages are only offered once a year with the listening component. Which means if you need to take a specific subject exam or two it is easy to get in a bind with dates. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 At least two of my dd's colleges superscored her ACTs. She took the test twice and, against my advice, did not do any prep/practice in between tests. Her superscore was one point higher than her composite scores. The science section does not test your science knowledge. It tests your ability to gather information from charts, graphs, etc. My second child who is in 1th grade just took the ACT for the first time last month, will take it again in June, and likely take it one more time in the fall. I expect him to be reviewing via ACT prep books. I would wait until fall, but I want his current math work to be fresh in his mind. While I expect the rest of his scores to continue to increase slightly, I wouldn't expect math to increase on the fall test. Both of mine have done better on the ACT than the SAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Lava Mama Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 Thank you to everyone! I appreciate all the information! Hot Lava Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 We also found that some schools will accept the ACT with writing in lieu of SAT 2 test for homeschoolers. That worked well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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