But what has not been a credible part of the standardized testing debate in the US is the idea of making such a test a high-stakes, make-or-break determinant of students’ professional aptitude, college admissions, etc. Indeed, even the relevance of standardized college admission tests like the SAT and ACT can be seen as slowly on the wane these days, as more and more top schools evolve test-optional policies.

In stark contrast is the situation in China, where a national, government-administered, two-day exam called the gaokao pretty much entirely determines each student’s academic and professional future. For example:

• Admission to colleges in China is based solely on the results of this brutal test
• Wealthy, highly motivated students spend hours each day – for up to four years – prepping for the test.
• Poor kids, knowing they can’t compete, simply go through school feeling hopeless, leading to depression, cheating and probably suicide.
• High school curricula in China are focused entirely on supporting kids to do well on the gaokao, to the exclusion of virtually all other learning objectives.
• The testing process is strongly biased towards students whose families can afford to pay for private test prep.
• The wealthiest Chinese prefer to rescue their children from the gaokao entirely, by sending them abroad to college if at all possible.

Blogger Michael Levy, who has first-hand experience teaching in China, points out that even the gaokao’s strongest defenders acknowledge that the test – and the educational system that has evolved to support it – “robs Chinese students of their curiosity, creativity and childhood.” It has been argued that this kind of high-stakes testing damages kids, making it harder for them to thrive in an innovative economy.

Like many people, Levy is skeptical of the value of the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” competitive grants, arguing that this system distorts the curricula of underfunded schools by using standardized test results to determine how money is allocated. The danger of this approach is that America could end up with one all-powerful, high-stakes test like the gaokao.

I was interested to learn that China has a very long history of applying standardized examination systems, such as its imperial examination system. No doubt there are many reasons why these systems have worked in China. For example, today’s gaokao system is arguably the most efficient method possible for allocating China’s scare resources for higher education.

The US is facing an educational crisis that has at its heart scarce financial resources. Can high-stakes “bubble testing” really help improve educational standards and results in this country?

Please comment and let us know what you think.

Featured image courtesy of albertogp123.

Arizona will also implement an early graduation policy that will allow students to take college courses for credit following their sophomore year, provided they pass a battery of board exams. Select public high schools in eight other states (Connecticut, Kentucky, Mane, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont) will begin piloting similar programs this coming fall.

In this new system, which the National Education Association (the nation’s largest teachers’ union) supports, 10^th graders can get a diploma two years early and immediately enroll in community college. Students who pass the exams but want to attend a selective college can continue with college preparatory courses in 11^th and 12^th grades. The goal of the program is to ensure that students have mastered basic requirements, and to thus reduce the number of high school graduates who need remedial classes in college.

These programs, modeled on systems that have been successful in Singapore, France, Finland and other high-performing countries, hopes to shift the emphasis from seat time and credits to verifiable subject mastery. To be successful, the new approach must provide students with a clear course syllabus of what they need to study in order to succeed, and ensure that diligent effort and successful learning meets with success on the exams.

According to the New York Times, states that participate in the pilot project on board exams will pick up to five of instructional programs – along with their accompanying tests – for use in participating high schools. Approved programs currently include the College Board’s Advanced Placement, the International Baccalaureate Diploma, ACT’s QualityCore and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education curricula offered by Cambridge International and also by Edexcel.

Is it a good idea to encourage teenagers, who might otherwise stay in high school, to enter college or vocational training early? Does passing a board exam really mean a student is ready for college – socially, emotionally or academically? NationalJournal.com’s education blog offers a wide range of expert opinions.

What are some potential ramifications of these new policies and programs for tutors, both now and over time as they potentially become much more prevalent? My sense is that:

• It will mean more work for tutors, because a significant percentage of kids (perhaps 20%) will opt for early graduation and will need to prepare for board exams
• Tutors will need to develop new curricula and strategies in line with the new board exams and related coursework
• Tutors will do well to pay close attention to the evolution of early graduation policies in the areas where they operate, so they can better target business development opportunities
• Since a stated goal of the new approach is to reduce the need for community colleges to offer remedial courses, high school and college students who still need remedial help may turn to tutors instead.
• The increasing adoption of board exams in high schools will increase the benefit to tutors of learning analytics software and services

Do you think policies that encourage early graduation are good for tutors? Good for our children and for education in America? Please comment and share your views.

Featured photo courtesy of Karen Apricot New Orleans.

SAT vs ACT: Choosing the Right Test [NEW EBOOK]

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Our free 20-page ebook is a step-by-step guide on how to select the right test for your student. Learn everything you need to know about using the PLAN and PSAT to improve student scores, how to leverage learning analytics to select one test over the other, and other tips on how to take the guesswork out of selecting the ACT vs the SAT.

Despite obvious differences, the pressures and strategy involved in horse racing, remind me of some of the challenges students and teachers have while preparing a student for college. You could prepare a student for 6 to 8 weeks for a test, but just like with a horse on race day, you never know if that test preparation will pay off in the student’s final score. You can only prepare that student to the best of your (and their) abilities, cross your fingers and hope.

Fortunately for students who are in the college races, there is a way to help guide yourself across the finish line and into the college of your choice, even after the race is finished: Superscoring.

What is Superscoring? Why Superscore?

Some colleges allow students to superscore a student’s test results from tests that they’ve taken more than once. That means that if a student takes the SAT two times before applying to a college, they can submit both scores to the college and the college will take only the best scores from each section.

Let’s say a student “Johnny” studies for 6 to 8 weeks for the SAT and despite all that effort, really botches the critical reading section of their exam. His math scores are fantastic, however, which helps pull up his score, but not enough to stand a chance at the school of his choice. Tough luck, right? Well, maybe not. If “Johnny” takes the SAT again and does much better on the critical reading section, but his math score is still higher on his first test, he may be able to combine those results to create a Supertest score. It all depends on if the college he’s submitting his application toward superscores tests or not.

Superscoring is a Parachute not a Strategy

Here at Socrato we recommend that students looking to increase their college test scores work with a tutor to help diagnose if the ACT or the SAT is right for them. Using learning analytics, such as the analytics Socrato offers, tutors and students can now delve deeper into test results and identify strengths and weaknesses early on in the test preparation process so that students aren’t surprised on test day. We suggest taking on a test preparation regimen that focuses on 1 test (the ACT or SAT) for 6 to 8 weeks.

Superscoring should not be used as a strategy. Instead it should be used as a parachute in the event of a test-taking emergency. No student should strive to superscore their test results. However, in the event that the student performs under expectation in a certain area of a test, superscoring can be extremely helpful to give that student the leg-up that they need.

Before You Superscore, Read This

Ross Blankenship of Top Test Prep recently wrote a very helpful post on his blog called “Superscoring –3 Points to Consider.” I agree with Ross when he says that superscoring is a great band-aid for students who got sick before the test or had a bad night, but probably won’t help individuals who are already struggling to keep up with school work.

Also, not all colleges allow superscoring. Before retaking the SAT or ACT with the intent to superscore results, it’s important that a student look into the colleges they want to apply to and see what their policy is on superscoring. If the college prefers to accept only 1 uncombined score from 1 test, than it’s not likely that taking another test will be worth the preparation, money and time. Afterall, if the student is unwilling to work at improving the second score or if they have multiple demands at school which would be sacrificed for the sake of the second round of the test preparation process, I would strongly advise against Superscoring for the student.

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featured photo is from *raymond

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In the case of PrepMatters, a tutoring company which specializes in helping students achieve excellence through standardized testing preparation, test preparation starts with the student.

Though parents, teachers and friends may all think they know a student’s potential is …or what test that student should take, PrepMatters doesn’t allow it to cloud their judgment. Instead, they rely on facts procured from using learning analytics, experience with test preparation processes as well as accessing the student’s personality for strengths and weaknesses. Using this information, the company’s tutors can assist the student in choosing between the SAT and ACT.

So what’s in PrepMatter’s “secret sauce”? How are they preparing students for college admissions tests? Here are a few steps they may be taking to improve student performance on these tests:

Step One. Prepare the Student for Test Preparation Process.

The first step for any tutoring organization is to educate the student about the challenge they are facing. Test preparation can take 6 to 8 weeks, so students need to know more about the test to which they are committing. Students may not even realize that they have a choice in what standardized test they can use to get admitted to college. They may even think that the two tests are very similar and therefore think that it makes no difference what test they take. It’s important that the test preparation process be upfront and clear to the student. It’s also important that the student understand that making a choice between the ACT and SAT the first step on their road to test preparation success.

Step Two. Drive Home the Differences Between the ACT and SAT

To keep students from picking a test for reasons that aren’t guided by their own sensibility, PrepMatters uses an assessment style which builds on the fundamental differences between each test.

Out of the SAT and the ACT, the SAT is probably the most well know in America. Therefore, some students might feel pressure to select the SAT over the ACT based on what their parents took on being admitted to college or even worse, based on what test their friends are taking. Since students will need to commit to one for 6 to 8 weeks, it’s important to get it right the first time. To help drive this point home, PrepMatters created a helpful ACT vs SAT chart on their website which outlines these differences simply and concisely to students.

Step Three.  Help the Student Self-Identify the Right Test

In an SAT vs ACT FAQ handout, PrepMatters outlines some qualities successful SAT and ACT test takers have and which test is right for them.

For example:

“You are a fast reader but not a deep reader” – ACT
“You are a slower reader but can approach the question analytically.” – SAT

This helps students self-identify the test that may be for them before taking their first practice exam. They go on to explain that students that get prone to test anxiety tend to do better on the ACT since the ACT is not a memory test and anxiety tends to inhibit memory. They also point out that the SAT is not a speediness test. They explain, “Having all day to do questions on the SAT wouldn’t change the fact that there are vocabulary words you simply don’t know, or there are certain math questions that are just too tricky.” Meanwhile, students who take the ACT and do well often feel that they could have answered all the questions if they had more time to do so.

Step Four:  Administer Practice Exams

Since PrepMatters urges students to choose a test based on their personal weaknesses and strengths, it’s important to procure an idea of those strengths and weaknesses early on in the test preparation process. To determine which test is right for the student, PrepMatters administers a practice test for both the ACT and SAT to determine which test performance has the potential for further success.

Using the diagnostic data they receive from the test, they are able to determine not only which test is right for the student, but the areas that that student particularly needs to work on to enhance their grade to the desired level. They then build a 6 to 8 week customized test preparation plan based on this precious intelligence.

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featured photo is from eriswt

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This week in 5 Education Articles to End Your Week, we take a look at blogs and news stories about the SAT, ACT and the college admissions experience, trying to make sense of the madness.

1.    Preparing for the SAT

by Alex Mallory, Huffingtonpost.com

The big message here is no matter how exceptional a student may be, parents need to learn that test preparation is a large part of SAT success.

Alex Mallory, Founder & Educational Director of Completive Edge Tutoring outlines a fantastic analogy between the time it normally takes to prepare for the SAT (8-12 weeks) and the demands of other prolonged learning experiences such as a semester in college or a year of school work, homework, and extracurricular learning experiences to learn 1 subject in high school curriculum. To get the desired results, the student, no matter how smart, must prepare.

2.      One College Applicant Puts Her Testing Gripes on Video

by Eric Hoover, The Chronicle of Higher Education

According to one high-school student, Allie Kauffmann, the standardize test experience is biased and unfair. FairTest, a testing watching group, worked with the Kauffmann’s on the film, but according to the Chronicle’s Higher Education blog did not have any artist input on the story.

SAT + ACT = Unfair + Biased? from Sam Kauffmann on Vimeo.

That means that when Allie Kauffman points out that the importance placed on standardized testing only aggravates the economic disparity between students who can afford test prep courses (for $500-$1,500 a pop) and the students who simply can not afford such an extravagance. “It’s like playing basketball with kids on ladders,” she says.

3.      7 Ways to Improve SAT and ACT Scores

by Lynn O’ Shaughnessy, The College Solution Blog

Despite the fact that the ACT and SAT are now accepted in all 50 states by all US colleges and universities, many students might select a test simply based on geography. That’s because for many years the ACT was only offered in the Midwest and the SAT was popular with East and West Coast schools. Despite the fact that both tests are offered in every state, many students don’t select a test based on which one they perform better at. Instead, they choose a test based on what their friends or parents tell them to.

With her 7 tips for SAT and ACT success, this is exactly the sort of behavior that Lynn O’ Shaughnessy hopes to prevent in students preparing for the college exams. “The worst thing you can do,” she says “is take a particular test because your friends are.”

4.   Do tests really help students learn – or was a new study misreported?

by Alfie Kohn, The Answer Sheet

It would appear that the coverage of an education study posted in the journal Science is not winning many fans in the education community. If you didn’t see the New York Times article entitled “Take a Test to Really Learn, Research Suggests,” or the hundreds of other news organizations who picked up the study, too, you’re probably wondering what the hullabaloo could possibly be about.

Alfie Kohn takes to the Washington Post’s Answer Sheet blog to chide the news organization for making it appear that the study posted in the journal Science was referring to standardized tests, when in fact the journal Science study couldn’t have been referring to K-12 students. After all, their test subjects were undergraduates.

5.      The Almighty Essay

by Trip Gabriel, New York Times

As colleges are inundated with applications from students, the personal essay, or what New York Times writer Trip Gabrial playfully calls the “Almighty Essay,” becomes the tie-breaker in the neck-and-neck race for students to gain acceptance to the college of their choice.

“Is this really fair?” the author of the piece asks, pointing out that many students don’t ever get to write in 1st person narrative while in school, nor experience the kind of themes in their life that would make a literary-quality essay. He ponders, are we really producing the kinds of students that can produce a personal essay that is “expository, analytical, and argumentative” – the qualities that that make a personal essay stand apart from the pack.

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featured photo is from La Prima Donna

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If the proposed change passes, students who do not qualify as “partially proficient” on the NECAP would not qualify for graduation. Despite how they performed in school or how many tutoring lessons they took, they would not receive a diploma. According to 2008 regulations, if a student did not achieve “partial proficiency” on the statewide NECAP they could still show proficiency in other ways. The 2012 change would alter this so that if test scores aren’t high enough, students would be required to get tutoring to “sufficiently improve” their score in time for the senior year NECAP retake.

According to a report from The Providence Journal many parents of dedicated students oppose the change because it doesn’t take into account hardworking students with learning disabilities or children who are from schools where the adults have not adequately prepared them for such a high stakes NECAP test. Though many officials believe that the higher stakes will motivate higher school standards and performance, some oppose the change because the regulations are unfair for low-income and minority schools. Many students from low-income families might not have the means to provide extra tutoring services or support for children who are struggling to gain proficiency by their senior year.

In the incredible YouTube video, posted above, is a project from individuals who oppose the change to the graduation requirements, the narrator defines the crux of this change as a “defining moment” in the future of Rhode Island and “our children’s future.” Using a whiteboard, an artist draws while a narrator entreats the Rhode Island board of regents not to change “Too much, too fast” and to judge students not only by their test results, but by their potential to help the community at large after graduation.  They explain that the “current changes proposed by the board of regents may have negative consequences for the very young people they aim to serve”

At minute 3:11 their concerns come to a cap stone. While the whiteboard fills with a swirl of activity, the narrator argues that “math and English alone are not enough to judge our children. There is no focus in this test to skills on career and technology, the arts or humanities. No focus on mentorship or internship, creativity, civic engagement, entrepreneurship or concerns unique to our communities.”

featured photo is a screen capture from SpeakWrite1

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So how exactly do the MCAS and all the other state exams stack up against the Common Core? There’s been a lot of debate here in Boston area and I found this great resource published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute where they compared the state standards in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to the Common Core. Let the data put the debate to rest.

In Math, 39 states clearly had a standard that was inferior to the Common Core, and twelve states had equivalent standards with MA being one of those twelve.

In English, only three states had standards that were clearly superior. Those were California, D.C. and Indiana. Eleven states (MA among them) clearly had an equivalent standard while the rest of the states had standards that were clearly inferior to the Common Core.

So on the whole it seems that most states that move to the Common Core will be moving up from inferior standards. When it comes to MA, it seems for most part the Common Core will be in the same league as the MCAS exam. At the end of the does this help students learn any better? Not sure that’s the case.

What do you think? Do you think a move to a common standard is a beneficial move to schools? How about for students?

Image Source: Thomas B. Fordham Institute

6 Internet Trends to Watch In Education
A detailed review of the latest internet trends such as social media, video, game based-learning impacting education and how educators, teachers and tutors can embrace those changes with the rise of the digital- native.

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