Should our testing strategy include the ACT?

[JanetC]

DD took the PSAT as a sophomore and was one point away from the estimated national merit qualifying number for our state. She will take the PSAT in the fall.

 

If she gets the National Merit number, she will need to take the SAT. In addition, SAT prep (at least for the multiple choice sections) is good for the PSAT. So, she will take the SAT, probably in November of junior year.

 

With all the talk about how the new SAT is suffering from 'grade inflation,' I'm wondering if it makes sense to also take the ACT, or if one test is enough (assuming she scores as well as expected).

 

Link for those not familiar with the new SAT scoring:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/05/11/why-your-new-sat-score-is-not-as-strong-as-you-think-it-is/

[RenaInTexas]

I would say that it makes sense to take the ACT if any of the colleges on her list accept it. There are several colleges that prefer the ACT over the SAT because recent research has found that the SAT is no longer a good predictor of college success.

[Matryoshka]

I ended up having my kids take the ACT just to see how they did, and they both scored much better on the ACT - so now I always recommend to try each at least once.  

 

My kids took the old SAT, so I have no idea how they'd have done on the new one in comparison, but it does seem like some kids do better on one or the other...  we are firmly in the SAT part of the country, so I'm not sure I would have really had the ACT on my radar if I hadn't been reading along here...

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I have found a couple uses of the ACT that might make it worth taking.

 

Arizona State University will use the science section scores in lieu of one of the high school science lab worksheets that they require from homeschoolers.  

 

Our local university requires homeschoolers to have an accredited diploma or GED or 5 SAT Subject Test scores or ACT scores.  ACT is far easier to do than 5 SAT Subject Tests (which would require two different sittings).

 

In addition, some colleges will superscore by section across both SAT and ACT.  So if a student does better on the math section of one test than the other, their composite score when superscored may be higher.

 

 

[Grantmom]

When they make changes to like this, whether it's SAT or AP tests, I wonder how the college admissions people keep up with all of the different dates things change.  For example, do you think they are looking at someone's scores and seeing, oh this person's score is on the first AP Whatever class right after a big change, so it was harder/easier/skewed/whatever.  I highly doubt it.  I think they are just looking at scores.  So now, if they make adjustments based on the bad press from this, will some kids have slightly more inflated scores than others, for example?  There are just so many issues with testing in this way.

[fourisenough]

I would say that it makes sense to take the ACT if any of the colleges on her list accept it. There are several colleges that prefer the ACT over the SAT because recent research has found that the SAT is no longer a good predictor of college success.

Can you cite a source, please? We're trying to decide which test to have DD15 prep for/take, so your info could be very helpful. TIA.

[Corraleno]

DD took the PSAT as a sophomore and was one point away from the estimated national merit qualifying number for our state. She will take the PSAT in the fall.

 

If she gets the National Merit number, she will need to take the SAT. In addition, SAT prep (at least for the multiple choice sections) is good for the PSAT. So, she will take the SAT, probably in November of junior year.

 

With all the talk about how the new SAT is suffering from 'grade inflation,' I'm wondering if it makes sense to also take the ACT, or if one test is enough (assuming she scores as well as expected).

 

Link for those not familiar with the new SAT scoring:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/05/11/why-your-new-sat-score-is-not-as-strong-as-you-think-it-is/

 

Will your DD be doing SAT subject tests? I was surprised by how many universities I looked at wanted either the SAT plus 2-3 subject tests or just the ACT. That's the main reason I will have DS do both SAT & ACT, as it's unlikely he'll have more than one subject test (Latin), and we'll probably skip that if he doesn't need it.

[Jamberry77]

JanetC,

 

You ought to call the National Merit Corporation and ask if they will accept an ACT test as the confirming test, or do they prefer or require the SAT.  The people who work there are friendly and helpful.   Beyond that, look at what the possible college destinations prefer.  

 

Our son scored high enough on the PSAT to be named a semi-finalist.  We discussed him taking the ACT, but he said he'd rather spend the time prepping for the SAT, and that prep work paid off well (in a good score and scholarship money).    When I called the NM corporation the morning I found out his SAT score, the man went over with me what would be the "confirming score" for the SAT test (what score is good enough to corroborate with the PSAT score (meaning the PSAT wasn't just a fluke), and we found out that his was high enough that he would not have to retake the SAT.

 

Congrats to your daughter on a great PSAT score.

[BlsdMama]

I ended up having my kids take the ACT just to see how they did, and they both scored much better on the ACT - so now I always recommend to try each at least once.  

 

My kids took the old SAT, so I have no idea how they'd have done on the new one in comparison, but it does seem like some kids do better on one or the other...  we are firmly in the SAT part of the country, so I'm not sure I would have really had the ACT on my radar if I hadn't been reading along here...

 

 

We had the same experience with oldest DD. Her ACT score was superior to her SAT scores so we only submitted her ACT when application time came.    DS has only taken the ACT.