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Submit Only Your Highest SAT Scores for Better Admissions

December 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

From March 2009, it will no longer be necessary for students sitting the SAT exams to allow selected colleges to see test results. What is more, students can actually select which, if any, test results to forward to the college. This replaces the system that had been in place from 2002 to 2009, which had required all SAT results to get forward to the student’s chosen colleges.

Some colleges have objected to the changes, saying that it is unfair for students to choose only their best scores to send to admissions offices. As a result, many colleges are adamant they will not be accepting scores that are diluted to only show the highest test scores. They want to see all the scores; applications that have SAT results filtered through Score.

Score Choice works by allowing students to take the SAT test, and then block lower scores from being release to colleges. The college will only see the highest scores achieved and selected by the student, and will have no idea of the lower marks awarded in other subjects. This way, students can actually use the first round of SAT’s as a trial test for their weaker subjects, then re-sit the SAT exam in those subjects and submit the second score.

Students counter the colleges’ arguments by declaring that they are under enough stress when taking SAT or ACT college entrance exams, without the added pressure of having to submit scores in their weaker subjects. Therefore, a poor result caused by stressful conditions may give a false or misleading reflection of the student’s ability.

Colleges counter by saying they have incredible volumes of paperwork to get through as application deadlines draw near. Having all test results to hand, first time around, makes their selection process much easier. If a student takes the SAT test three times, for example, the admissions office will select the top scores from all three tests.

Filed Under: College Entrance Exams, Online Resources, Standardized Testing Tagged With: , ,

The Advantages and Disadvantages of the SAT and ACT Tests

December 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Both Sat and ACT are standardized tests that universities accept for admission. Both has its advantages and disadvantages, but it depends on the on the strength and weakness of an individual.
Students generally score higher when they take the exam that is best suited to them. This makes it easier for them to gain admission to colleges.
Generally, ACT tests a student of the subject matters that studied in high school, whereas SAT tests a student’s thinking skills. ACT may suit those students who received good grades in classes.
On the other hand, SAT is suited to those students who have strong deduction skills. It is more like an aptitude test. It uses tricky confusing phrases intentionally to confuse the students. But some students like SAT more than ACT.
ACT gives more importance to grammar, has covers test on Science reasoning, whereas SAT emphasizes on the use of vocabulary, and has no tests based on science reasoning.
Three sections are included in SAT, that is, writing, critical reading, mathematics, whereas ACT comprises of four sections. They are reading, science, mathematics and English.
In SAT, students are required to give answers to mathematical question, whereas ACT comprises of multiple-choice questions.
IN SAT, the level of difficulty in questions increases as the test progresses, whereas in ACT, the level of questions remains almost constant.
In spite of having the same time for both the tests, the number of questions differs. SAT comprises of 140 questions, whereas ACT comprises of 215 questions.
In a SAT exam, there is negative marking, whereas in ACT exam, there is no negative marking. Further, the questions of SAT are design in such a way that it can slow down the test taker. Therefore, it is suggests to first answer the questions that are easier and then move on to the harder ones.
Students can earn maximum of 36 points in SAT whereas they can earn maximum 800 points in ACT.

Filed Under: College Entrance Exams, Education, Online Resources Tagged With: , , ,

Practice Tests Facilitate the Better ACT and other College Entrance Scores

December 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Entrance exams are stepping-stones for a student to enter into a college. Students are required to take SAT or ACT, even after they are accepted by colleges. Practice tests are designed to facilitate students in the preparation of college exams.
SAT and ACT, being the most important college entrance exams have practice examinations such as PLAN and PSAT. These tests are designed for students to help students during their sophomore years.
PLAN assists a student to take the ACT exam with ease. It normally consists of four parts
Sections in PLAN
Reading
English
Science
Arithmetic
Other sections contain Educational Opportunity Service, UNIACT interest inventory, perceived needs assessment and high school course and grade details.
The College Board administers the test known as PSAT/ NMSQT that is considered to be the official test for SAT I or SAT reasoning test. The various topics covered under this are writing, problem solving in math and critical reading.
Students who get high scores are given entry for the National Merit Scholar Program. Merit based scholarships are also offered which can be used during admission at a reputed university or college.
Either students are allowed to take SAT or ACT, out of which most of them appears for the test various times. All colleges, universities, and America accept ACT.
Since ACT focuses on four main areas that include reading, English, Mathematics and Science, most of the students feel at ease to write this exam. On the other hand, apart from writing exam, SAT deals with verbal as well as mathematical reasoning skills. This normally makes some students nervous.
In order to evaluate a student’s academic skills more effectively, certain colleges require the applicants to take both SAT and ACT.
The College Board sends all the tests results right from the beginning for those students who re take the SAT test multiple times. On the other hand, ACT sends only the latest test scores to colleges and universities.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , , ,

People with Learning Disabilities can have Accommodations on the SAT

December 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Observations show that few students coming from rich families are applying for accommodations on the SAT even though they have no disability. Thus, the SAT is refusing requests made by deserving students who are disabled.
Joan Ryan is the writer for SFGate.com in” Learning Disabled Left Behind. She talks about unfairness in the SAT involving the learning disabled. Professionals working with the College Board note increased claims denied in the last two years as compared to the last ten years. This begs to ask the question why so.
The SAT wants all tests in a uniform manner, arguing that honesty of the tests will compromise if not all the students sit for it at the same time. The SAT too fails to take adequate measures to deal with students found cheating.
As per the SAT accommodations has increased three times in the last 30 years. Of the 20 % population, 2% of students have had their tests adjusted to fit in with their diagnosis. Ten percent however has a formal learning disability. The remaining 8 % of students is assumed are not taking the SAT, do not apply for the accommodations or are just being refused the chance to apply.
The SAT requires proof of the disability that understands. However, it is hard to get an official diagnosis if you come from a family that does not have good insurance. Frequently, students have changes made for them while in high school but lack records. Thus, SAT refuses such requests, as there was no “proof” showing the students were in need of these changes in order to do well. All changes should be in writing on either a 504 Plan or an IEP.
Due to doubts revolving around these tests, many colleges are warming up to the idea of not making the SAT and ACT mandatory for college admissions.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , , ,

Prepare for the SAT with Novels to Keep from Being Bored

December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Communication is a very important part of any individual in life. To communicate orally or in writing we need to have a strong base of the language or vocabulary. Reading is a very effective and useful way one can improve his or her vocabulary. If vocabulary is good, then a person is better equipped in understanding and comprehending what words mean. This is very useful to everybody more so in case of students who are studying for the SAT
A student often tries to improve test scores by many ways whilst he is studying for Critical Reading Skills of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Novels targeted towards high-school students, helps the student to familiarize with new vocabulary words in an interesting and entertaining form. SAT words are in most of these novels are in bold print with their definitions at the bottom of the page.
SAT novels help to hold the student’s interest and attention, without boring them, which may not be the case when using flipping flashcards or memorizing lists of words, students won’t find SAT novels as boring vocabulary builders. SAT novels are intelligently published with currently common and popular topics, such as; dating, sports, summer jobs, driving and high school life, which holds their attention.
Some of the popular novels for the SAT are Head Over Heels, which is a concerns a girl falling for her tutor, who is another high school student. Novels like these hold the attention of teenage girls.
Reading any of these SAT novels is worthwhile with respect to time and the effort in improving and strengthening his vocabulary. These books also provide an interesting and different way of using new vocabulary unlike repetitive and memorization practice tests, besides being educative, yet light reading, proving these novels to being a tool in a perceptive student’s repertoire.

Filed Under: Education, Reading and Writing Tagged With: , , ,

Tips to Improve SAT Exam Scores

December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Hundreds of test preparations are available when it comes to SAT exams. Many of these books mainly focus on questions. They give thousands of questions to solve so that you become comfortable for taking the test. By practicing questions, you learn to recognize question patterns that are essential for improvement of your scores in the SAT exam. While these preparations can make you sorted to the questions, but they do not introduce you to the new vocabulary that is required for SAT exams.
Listed below are some tips that can help you improve your vocabulary and improve your SAT scores.

Read a variety of materials. It is not necessary to buy everything in order to read. Read any stuff even though you may find it uninteresting. Try to build your interest in reading out all sorts of materials.
Apart from your preparation books, read newspapers and magazines every day. If you prepare yourself every day a little, then your long hard work will surely focus on your results.
Look out for similar words. Even though some test preparations teaches you the meanings of the words deeply, but recognizing similar words can do.
Look for unfamiliar words in the dictionary. It may not be possible to remember all the unfamiliar words, so you can write them out and their meanings into your copy or computer.
You need to go through few practice tests. The website of SAT provides you one question per day. You may look through the questions provided by their website.

The basic thing is that spending hours for preparation of SAT exam is not at all necessary. You just have to follow a routine for preparation of the exam. The best section of the exam is the reading part as it is easy to prepare that part which consists of vocabulary and basic grammar.

Filed Under: Education, Online Resources Tagged With: , ,

Twilight Saga can Help Improve SAT Vocabulary Scores

December 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Vocabulary learning has taken a u-turn, for those who like Stephanie Meyer’s twilight Saga. Learners can now sit down to read all the four series, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn and jot down the words they are not familiar with and later look them up in the dictionary. Through this, one gets to learn of great and new vocabularies, especially in times of exams.
Brian Leaf is defining Twilight: Vocabulary workbook for unlocking the SAT, ACT, GED, and SSAT makes the learning process quick for those interested in Twilight and boosts skills in exams taking. This guide has Twilights, page references, definitions, quizzes and standardized drills, synonyms, mnemonic devices and Latin root words.
In the case of Defining New Moon: Vocabulary Workbook for Unlocking the unfamiliar context, Leaf came up with a similar format as the one he had for Defining Twilight. Defining New Moon workbook is available in book stores that offer test prep materials.
Defining Eclipse may publish and release to the public in May 2010. Students do not have to wait this long. They can do it by themselves and studying for exams, learning vocabulary, and reading favorite novels is not just a tedious job, but exciting.
After reading those workbooks, read Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Read as you write down the unfamiliar words, page numbers, and all the others properties that the above workbooks have. By following that, you will be creating a wonderful encounter in your readings.
Reading favorite novels Increases vocabulary
When reading unfamiliar words, other contents help in recalling the meaning.
Studying for exams should not be a hard task, find ways to make it exciting and your grades will go up. Making work and study more interesting will keep you motivated to continue going and learning new words that will help improve your scores.

Filed Under: College Entrance Exams, Education Tagged With: , ,

About the SAT and Scholarship Eligibility

December 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Getting a college degree is everyone’s utmost priority. However, to be able to achieve this, students have to pass the SAT college entrance exams. The results of this exam determine the student’s eligibility for possible scholarships or admission into particular universities. That is why preparatory measures for SAT are crucial. No, wonder why parents willingly pay for costly online SAT prep programs. However, what about for those who cannot afford it? They can set aside their worries now because there are sites that offer free online prep programs. Free online prep sites been discussed as follows.

The College Board that administers the SAT college entrance exams, has generated their own preparatory site to create SAT readiness for incoming college students. The College Board Online Prep Site has several functions to help students register for SAT, check results and even email it to their chosen schools. Moreover, this site provides various learning activities that could improve students- chances of delivering excellent scores. A section of the site called “practice”, presents tutorials with sample questions, quizzes and tips to refresh students- memories and help them find areas where they need to progress on. In addition, loads of sample tests are present, even via e-mail, if requested by the student, to maintain their focus and retain as much information as they could.

Another free site that students can turn to is the Number 2 Free Online Prep. This site offers a different approach in preparing students for SAT. They locate students’ weak points; they focus on it by giving them continuous activities, provide coaching points and monitor their progression until students finally improve on that particular skill.
Finally, Peterson’s Student Edge site offers a free SAT Prep program by giving you three sample exams. You can also enrich your vocabulary words by opting for the email service.
It is good to have such alliances to help everyone carry out their dreams without asking for anything back.

Filed Under: Education, Online Resources Tagged With: , , ,

Early Exposure to the Challenges of the SAT Increases Testing Scores

December 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Providing reading instructions to a student at an early stage is the first and foremost step that need taken during the process of SAT preparation. Exposure to challenges such as comprehension reading and vocabulary building through a wide range of books over a period makes the child an efficient reader.
There are numerous books available on SAT preparation but it’s imperative to purchase the right one. One should look for sections that cover detailed explanations, practice tests etc. The book should also have a separate section containing references to reviews on arithmetic skills, vocabulary and grammar. To make learning more interesting and based on the study method followed by the student, CDs can be utilized. Although, these kinds of materials are useful, it is recommended to buy a book, as the questions for practice tests keep changing pretty often.
It is imperative to keep an eye on the registration cut-off date and test taking dates. Either get in touch with the management cell at school or check online at College Board page. A study plan can be prepared based on the available time.
In case you have one whole year to prepare for the SAT exam, four or five practice tests can be taken. Concentrate more on question types and reference sections. During free time, you can refer to additional SAT preparation books.
Adopt a more targeted approach if you have very few months left for your exam. Take two or three practice tests. Review only those questions that you have answered incorrectly. Concentrate more on vocabulary section, so that it will be helpful for you to identify unfamiliar vocabulary words when you sit for the final exam. A practical guide such as Writer’s Inc comes handy.
Just one month before the final exam, concentrate on one practice test, question types and vocabulary section. Maintaining a positive attitude boosts up your confidence level to write the final exam.

Filed Under: College Entrance Exams, Education, Online Resources Tagged With: , ,

What to Expect with the ACT College Entrance Exam

December 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ACT is a test that that is three hours long and consists of four sections. They are Math, English skills, science and reading. There is also a thirty-minute writing test for students to write essays on specific topics. However, this is optional. The students mostly take this test when they reach the tenth or eleventh grade. They can take this test as many times, as they wish and while joining the university, they can send their best scores. From the ninth grade, the teachers should help the students to understand the pattern of ACT exams.

Most colleges, than the SAT scores prefer ACT score. For instance, if a student does well in the science section, then he is considered have an inclination towards science. Each section consists of twenty-five percent marks.

However, it is not essential to take the thirty-minute optional test, but many colleges prefer to see this score. Even if writing is not your strength, but you should opt for this section as it can give you a high essay score.

Preparing for ACT exam should start early during the high school. One night per week can allotted for preparation of ACT exam. In this time, students can take up reading passages that are challenging and make deductions and inferences from them.

Teachers must prepare the students to reduce the test anxiety and focus on their goals. Students need to learn how to keep fit both physically and mentally. They should keep a positive attitude and take up the exam as a challenge.

After thoroughly understanding the pattern of the ACT exam, students should go for content studying. Teachers can help students improve their preparation by introducing them to mock tests for ACT and other standardized tests. Instead of making the students view this as a challenge, teachers should guide them specifically towards the test.

Filed Under: College Entrance Exams, Education Tagged With: ,
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