ACT/SAT Test Prep … Superscore This!

ACT?SAT Test Prep … Superscore This!: How much can your Sat scores improve from your baseline PSAT? When should you start your college board test prep? How much do you need? And how does it all work? We sat down with Neal Schwartz of College Planning of Westchester to get the skinny on the ACT vs. the SAT, test taking strategies and super scoring. Here’s what he said:

So can you get my kid’s SAT scores up from 1100 to 1600?

That would be a challenge to say the least. Unless the student had a severe breakdown on test day and their baseline score is not representative of their true ability a 500 point swing is statistically … unlikely. The baseline tests from the College Board have a long history of being accurate. Now that the SAT has been recalibrated from 2400 down to 1600, a 100-200-point increase would be a more reasonable target. For an ACT, a 2-4 point increase is a good rule of thumb. The lower the baseline score, the greater the probability that the increase will be at the higher end. And vice versa. Though, of course, you know from personal experience with us that some students can out-achieve those numbers.

What’s the difference between test prep classes and private tutoring?

There are basically two types of classes. Some go through each lesson like a school curriculum, tackling 100% of the material in sequence in lecture mode. The downside of this approach is that students who need just a little tune-up will wind up sitting through much that they already know. Other classes pre-determine what types of questions students have typically struggled with over the years and narrow their focus to those areas. This approach is fine if your child’s strengths and weaknesses neatly fit into the class’s pre-determined assumptions. If not … than not so much. Test prep classes are more economical than private tutoring but neither approach is easily personalized to the student’s needs.

How does private tutoring work?

Private tutoring’s process starts with a baseline practice test. After the test is scored, the tutor works with the student and goes over their incorrect problems. If a content area needs additional attention after this first review, the tutor goes into a tutoring mode. There are homework assignments – usually one hour for every hour of test prep. Then the student takes another baseline to assess improvement and see if those specific areas need more attention. Additional cycles gradually reduce the areas that need to be mastered.

Usually a student will work with different tutors for Math (and/or Science) and for English. Specialists are much more effective in test prep. It is rare to find a tutor that is strong in both English and Math.

Can’t kids just do this on their own like we did in high school?

The top 1-2% can probably do it the old-fashioned way. But with many more students getting tutored and with less students having free time to just read, basic skills needs some boosting. Many students are just not motivated enough to do this on their own.

When should you start prepping?

Four months out from the test is ideal. This keeps the weekly burden down during the school year. This is another advantage of private tutoring. You want to be in command of your own schedule. With group classes you start when they start which may be too late or too early. We usually recommend budgeting two-thirds to three quarters of your test prep time before the first test. The rest should be saved for the second test.

What about test taking strategies?

Both the SAT and ACT now adopt “passage”- based tests. That means they are subject driven. So it is harder for students to incorporate individual content strategies. Students with outstanding reading and interpreting skills will do well on these tests.

There are still overall test taking strategies at the macro level that can be critical for the student to know. Like how to move on to the next question if they don’t know how to answer a difficult one and other time management techniques. The SAT has eliminated their penalty for “guessing”. In that regard it’s like the ACT now. So that’s a change that will affect student’s strategies, as well.

How do you decide if you should take the ACT or the SAT?

These tests are very similar. But, if the student often needs extra time to finish tests and does not have accommodation, then the SAT would be a better choice. The only real way to answer the question is to take both as practice to see which you’re better at. The student always controls which tests are sent to schools so there’s no harm in trying both.

ACT/SAT Test Prep … Superscore This!

This is when schools accept the best scores from multiple test dates so you can wind up with a higher composite score than you actually received on any single test date. It is not a universal practice so you should check the websites of each of your target schools. Here’s a good place to start. Schools that superscore the ACT. Schools that superscore the SAT.

About Neal: Neal is a regular contributor to What To Do on College Prep. College Planning of Westchester provides counseling programs on academic readiness and tutoring, SAT/ACT prep, college selection guidance, resume and essay assistance and application process support. (College Planning of Westchester, 200 Business Park Dr., Armonk; 914.273.2353; www.collegeplanningofwestchester.com) 

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