ACT prep in a hurry or apply for DE in a hurry?

[cintinative]

We have put ourselves in a pickle. In the ideal circumstances my son would have started ACT prep by now, and would take the December ACT, so that we have his test scores by Jan/Feb, can apply for the college at which he will take DE, and then apply for the College Credit Plus (CCP--an Ohio thing) funding and hope we get some credits covered.  

Unfortunately there has been a lot of reality over here lately--my son's job is giving him way too many hours even though he asked for less, so we need to talk to management again, etc.  So here we are, November 1st, with no ACT prep at all done and unlikely to be able to start for another week or so, and then only maybe 15-20 minutes a day.  

ETA: He scored well enough on the practice test at home to receive admittance to the college. It is more that I am worried that with prep he will have a big score jump. 

We could take the February test, but there is a risk that with the time to get the scores, then applying to the college, that we might come up against the CCP deadline of April 1st. 

So I feel like I am left with two not so great options.  He has taken a practice ACT and did okay except the Science was low. We can definitely watch the videos referenced on here to prep before the December date.  

One other (possibly frustrating to my child) option is to have him take placement tests at the college (I think these are by appointment) and then take the ACT much later. My understanding is that these are writing and math tests.

Again, this is not the scenario I wished for, but it's the one I have, so what do you all think?

Edited November 1, 2021 by cintinative

[Kassia]

I don't really have advice but the placement tests should be fairly easy if that's what you decide.  

Is it possible for him to take the ACT just for the purpose of scoring well enough for CCP but hoping to get a good enough score to use later?  The nice thing about taking the ACT even without prep is it would give him practice with the test and he would know what he should work on if taking it again based on his scores.  It's a good sign that he did well on his practice ACT and you expect that he'll have some time to prep ahead of time.  My older kids took the ACT with no prep (didn't even know that was a thing back then) and they all scored well - higher than they did on the SAT if you compare scores. 

Good luck with the decision and whatever you decide to do.  I'm sorry about your son's hours.  That is a tough situation.  I remember in high school having to quit my job for that reason - I just couldn't keep up with school and marching band while working so many hours and my employer kept increasing my hours even though I asked them for fewer.  

 

 

[cintinative]

6 minutes ago, Kassia said:

 

Is it possible for him to take the ACT just for the purpose of scoring well enough for CCP but hoping to get a good enough score to use later? 

 

 

Based on the summer practice test, he should do fine. I guess I am a little concerned about what people have said about score jumps being frowned upon. He's a kid I can see doing better with prep.  So I did intend to send him with some prep, even though this is very unlikely to be his only ACT unless he scores so well we just don't bother retaking it. I just can't see that scenario as a sophomore though. 

[cintinative]

10 minutes ago, Kassia said:

 

Good luck with the decision and whatever you decide to do.  I'm sorry about your son's hours.  That is a tough situation.  I remember in high school having to quit my job for that reason - I just couldn't keep up with school and marching band while working so many hours and my employer kept increasing my hours even though I asked them for fewer.  

Thank you. It is tough. He knows they are understaffed, and I think he feels bad, but I keep reminding him that you need time to be a kid outside of school and work. Right now that is what most of his days look like--school, work, more school, then bed. That's just not healthy.  

We are behind on driver's ed too for the same reason. I am trying to be a good mom and let him advocate for himself but some days I just want to march in there and tell them they need to respect his request for less hours. One week they scheduled him for 27 hours. Lately it has been 23 (since he asked for 20). I think it needs to be less than 15, to be honest. He is underestimating his need for downtime, I think.  

[Kassia]

15 minutes ago, cintinative said:

Thank you. It is tough. He knows they are understaffed, and I think he feels bad, but I keep reminding him that you need time to be a kid outside of school and work. Right now that is what most of his days look like--school, work, more school, then bed. That's just not healthy.  

We are behind on driver's ed too for the same reason. I am trying to be a good mom and let him advocate for himself but some days I just want to march in there and tell them they need to respect his request for less hours. One week they scheduled him for 27 hours. Lately it has been 23 (since he asked for 20). I think it needs to be less than 15, to be honest. He is underestimating his need for downtime, I think.  

Yes, he needs time to be a kid!  He is way too young to have a schedule like that and I agree it's not healthy.  😞  

We had a similar situation with one of my sons, who was working way too many hours with a very difficult DE courseload and a lot of driving for DE commuting.  We kept pressuring him to tell his employer to give him fewer hours but he was uncomfortable doing that and refused.  It was very frustrating for us and we would have rather he quit than keep up that schedule but he did and it turned out okay but definitely not ideal.  But he was never working for 27 hours!  That is way too much!  I also agree that fewer than 15 would be ideal for high school.  I hope it all works out.  

My ds was so uncomfortable with confrontation that he preferred to work while sick rather than call off.  It was very hard for us as parents of a minor - what do we do in that situation?  He had a fever and we thought it was a terrible idea but we let him do it because he was so insistent on it (he was older than your ds though at the time).  Parenting is tough!  

[fourisenough]

I wouldn’t worry too much about any concerns over a major score improvement. I know, anecdotally, there have been some report their scores were challenged, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a problem that affects a statistically significant population of students.
 

My DD raised her science sub-section score from a 25-30-35 over the course of three consecutive test sittings (September, October, December last year). No one batted an eye. That’s obviously also anecdotal, but proof that I have relevant personal experience. 
 

I’d say prep however much you can in the next six weeks and test in December.

[cintinative]

35 minutes ago, Kassia said:

 

My ds was so uncomfortable with confrontation that he preferred to work while sick rather than call off.  It was very hard for us as parents of a minor - what do we do in that situation?  He had a fever and we thought it was a terrible idea but we let him do it because he was so insistent on it (he was older than your ds though at the time).  Parenting is tough!  

I can so see my kid doing that!  It is tough for sure. 

[Miguelsmom]

Does he have to work? What grade is he in would he finish a degree before graduating? Wouldn't he still need the ACT for college?

 

[cintinative]

42 minutes ago, Miguelsmom said:

Does he have to work? What grade is he in would he finish a degree before graduating? Wouldn't he still need the ACT for college?

 

The "has to work" issue is complicated. I think it is good for him to have a job but not so many hours. If they continue to push it, I told him I would be okay with him not working. He is going to have to help with college expenses.

He is a sophomore. He does not plan to finish a degree before graduating.

Yes, he would need the ACT before college, but the college application I am talking about is for dual enrollment.  In our state, you have to apply to the college with your scores or the college's placement tests, and then you can apply for free college classes via College Credit Plus. 

I am sure he will take the ACT again. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by cintinative

[mlktwins]

Mine took the SAT test in Aug with no prep.  One scored 10 points lower than his practice test and one scored 10 points higher.  Good enough to get into our community college.  Mine are prepping for the 1st SAT in the new year.  I’m not worried about a score jump.

I would have him do what he can prep wise and take it in December.  I think it was good experience for mine to sit cold so they know what to expect the next time around.

[Lori D.]

Whichever you decide, IF you want him to do some meaningful test prep, he's going to need to drop to NO MORE than working 10 hours/week for the 4 weeks prior to testing. Would that be easier for him to drop his hours now (with the holiday rush about to hit), or would having a 10-hour work week for a month be easier to do in January, after the holidays?

Also, I would strongly suggest that he NOT work a job that first year that he does DE. Those DE grades are a permanent part of his transcript, and you are going to want to give him as much time as possible to transition into the faster pace/more rigor of college level classes for his DE. And with his LDs, he's likely to need MORE time for those first DE classes than the average student doing DE.

Neither DS here worked during the school year they did DE (12th grade), and it was SUCH a good move. Not only did they have that needed time to succeed with their DE, but it also gave them time to be involved in a number of great extracurriculars, varsity sports, and other special events. They each earned some great awards, and they matured and learned some terrific skills in leadership, responsibility, networking, etc. Working part time would have wiped out the time they had to do some last exploration of interests. Just our experience! 😄 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

6 minutes ago, cintinative said:

The "has to work" issue is complicated. I think it is good for him to have a job but not so many hours.... He is going to have to help with college expenses...

Summers are great for that. 😉 

Also, you might look around and see if a future entry-level job for him (later in high school / during college) could be at a company that offers a tuition reimbursement benefit to employees after they've worked 9-12 months -- Chipotle or Starbuck's, etc. If he starts with one of those companies in the summer between 11th/12th grades, he would have his year in by the time he starts college, and could possible get partial tuition reimbursement for even his first semester.

Edited November 2, 2021 by Lori D.

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, fourisenough said:

I wouldn’t worry too much about any concerns over a major score improvement. I know, anecdotally, there have been some report their scores were challenged, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a problem that affects a statistically significant population of students.
 

My DD raised her science sub-section score from a 25-30-35 over the course of three consecutive test sittings (September, October, December last year). No one batted an eye. That’s obviously also anecdotal, but proof that I have relevant personal experience. 
 

I’d say prep however much you can in the next six weeks and test in December.

FWIW, I agree

 

And congrats to your dd, @fourisenough!  That is an impressive increase!  

[Miguelsmom]

I would just take the DE test.

[Kassia]

I think he'd be fine with an ACT score for CCP though even without prep (or minimal prep) or just take the placement test.  

Edited November 2, 2021 by Kassia

[Lanny]

This is from 2018 and I do not remember the name of the exact course that my DD took from Kaplan for ACT preparation. At that time, there was a tie-in between ACT and Kaplan and it was on the web site of one or both of them. It was extremely inexpensive for access for several months at that time. (I don't remember how many months, but it was $100 USD at that time).

That particular course had a lot of videos the students could watch at their convenience, as many times as they wanted to.  More importantly, there were occasional live sessions with an Instructor where the students could ask questions.

My DD found those live sessions extremely helpful...  Asking questions and getting answers from a Live Instructor can be very helpful for a student...

For the SAT she used  KhanAcademy which is free and has a tie-in with SAT, almost exclusively. She did a little better on the ACT than on the SAT but her test results were pretty close.

ETA: Based on some posts in threads here on WTM, 1 to 3 years ago, I believe there were a number of positive comments about Prep Scholar for ACT and/or SAT test preparation? 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Lanny
add ETA

[ByGrace3]

I would take the ACT just to get the score for DE and then take it again later after prep... that is what we did. My dd took the college placement test (Accuplacer and passed 2 of the 3 sections). I had her take the SAT no prep just to get the one sub test score she needed to DE. She did that but her overall score was low. We plan to do some prep this year and take it again in June. I am hoping for a big jump in scores. 

[skimomma]

I'd have him take it cold or with whatever prep he can manage beforehand.  My dd took it cold.  It's a long story but basically it was not our intention to have her take it cold and we anticipated that she would have to take it again to get the score she needed.  She scored much higher than predicted (and much higher than the practice test I sprung on her a few months prior).  It turned out she did not need to take it again at all.  She needed a high enough score to get the max merit aid at her college of choice.  Since she got it one and done, she saved a lot of wasted time on prep.   

[Farrar]

I wouldn't worry too much about the score jump issue. I mean, yeah, they're nuts over there and it's a mild concern, but there's also context. The score jumps that are really concerning to them are things that typically happen when someone totally blows off the test one time (maybe because they already took it and got the score they wanted and are being forced to do it again for a school day administration) or is really sick during one test (but chose to do it anyway) or literally hasn't studied any math or done any prep at all and then does a bunch before another test taking (because unschoolers exist).