SAT? ACT? NP!
From flashcards to reading the newspaper, there are tricks to preparing for these standardized tests
Stressed out about testing? Read on for answers to some of the perennial questions about the two big tests for high schoolers. And remember, the clock is running.
SAT or ACT? More graduating seniors take the SAT than the ACT (1.5 million vs. 1.2 million last year), but the latter test continues to gain popularity. The SAT stresses logic and reasoning skills, but the ACT is closer to the high school curriculum: It has four sections, testing English, math, reading, and science, with an optional writing section. "More people find that the anxiety surrounding the ACT is significantly lower," says Rob Margolis, president of Stumptown Test Prep of Portland, Ore. Margolis says all students should at least consider the ACT, particularly those who struggle with vocabulary, critical reading, and writing. Another plus: Students who are unhappy with their ACT scores can choose to hide them from colleges, an option unavailable to SAT takers.
What about the writing sections? Harvard University actually requires ACT takers to complete that test's optional writing section, but the SAT writing section is relatively new, so schools consider it differently. Check with individual colleges, but listen to Margolis as well: "It's better to have a good writing score and not need it than need it and not have it." Many schools take the writing tests very seriously: The University of California system expects ACT takers to sit for the optional writing section, then factors test scores into a unique "UC Score." But don't fret. "Students can have spelling errors and miss a few commas and still have a great score," says Drew Deutsch, a vice president at the Princeton Review. "Graders only spend about two minutes looking at each essay, so the essay writing skills that your English teacher is looking at are different than the essay writing skills on the SAT."
What else is new? The spring SAT--typically a junior's first SAT experience--was traditionally scheduled in the last week of March or the first week of April. This year it moves all the way up to March 1, leaving more than two months before the May test. "It's a huge change," says Ned Johnson of PrepMatters Inc., a test preparatory and educational consulting firm in Bethesda, Md. Schools need to bear it in mind when scheduling sports and other activities, he says--and so do students.
Should I take a prep class? >Chelsea Levine, a senior at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Baltimore County, Md., says private classes allowed her to approach the SAT and ACT with confidence. (That's right: Chelsea took both.) "We took a practice test every week," she said. "I felt really prepared." Can't afford outside help? Don't be discouraged, says Johnson: "The vast majority of school systems offer free or vastly reduced test prep programs." His company partners with a local group called College Tracks that offers free classes to low-income students. Ask your guidance counselor what's available.
What works best? Well, you could start early. Richard Bavaria, vice president of education for Sylvan Learning, based in Baltimore, says prep for college testing begins your freshman year of high school. "Take challenging courses ... take good notes, and study," he says. In the months leading up to the SAT or ACT, Bavaria suggests studying in small groups. Students can make flashcards and quiz each other on vocabulary words, for example. "Cooperative learning is almost always better for students than learning alone," he says. Reading books, newspapers, and magazines during your free time can also help. As for what works in the testing room, Kristen Kirkpatrick, a junior at Lake Oswego High School in Oregon, says the best advice she got from her tutor was to stop focusing on herself. Look around the room and "watch everyone else freak out," she says. "You are not the center of the universe. The test isn't the end of the world."
With Petra Bartosiewicz
This story appears in the August 27, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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