This week South Korea faced an academic scandal that put it in the global spotlight, as the SAT exams for the entire country were cancelled after allegations of widespread cheating came to light.
Beginning as soon as the spring of 2015, the ACT college admissions test will be administered digitally. Digital testing can provide faster results — in minutes versus two to six weeks — for both students and colleges. Since the ACT is designed to test students’ high school learning and reasoning skills, it is already well [...]
Though no release date has been officially announced, the earliest that a revamped SAT would be in the hands of students would be Spring 2015. So the changes could impact today’s freshman class. The classes of 2013, 2014 or 2015 will take the same test that is currently in use.
The SAT was revamped as recently as 2005. Changing it again now is potentially risky, in that it may be “off-putting to the biggest stakeholders involved – the students” who are trying to prepare for it.
David Coleman, the new president of the College Board, the nonprofit that owns the SAT college admissions exam, announced on February 25 in an e-mail to the organization’s members that the test will be redesigned in “an ambitious effort” to more comprehensively address “the core set of knowledge and skills” that are most important to success in college.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no “guessing penalty” on the SAT. There is, however, a penalty for wrong answers – and the whole point of that penalty is to help ensure that students who guess randomly won’t improve their scores as a result.
High school students would benefit greatly from the option to take the SAT or ACT in the summer, versus during the higher-stress school year. Kids could finish their academic year, focus on test prep for part of the summer, and take the high-stakes exam in August. Why isn’t this an option?
With so little time available for yet more studying while school is in session, summer is perhaps the most popular time to prepare for standardized tests. In particular, summer is the perfect time for high school juniors to begin preparing to take the ACT or SAT test in the fall. The same goes for seniors [...]
In the wake of a recent cheating episode, the SAT and ACT exams will now require students to upload or mail in a photograph when they sign up for an exam. This photo will be printed on their admissions ticket, and on the roster at the test center. On test day, proctors will compare each test-taker’s photo ID with the photo provided at signup.
As a tutor or teacher you might well be asked: What’s a good SAT score? That depends on a student’s goals and the college(s) she or he wants to go to.
