College Board is losing market share? Interesting.
I remember very much rocking the ACT and struggling so hard with the SAT. It was the verbal section with its esoteric words that go to me though I did really well on the SAT II Writing section so obviously I knew something about English. But to not take the SAT was sacrilige back then, nearly 20 years ago.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Post by teatimefor2 on Mar 8, 2015 20:35:13 GMT -5
Interesting. I also scored really well on the ACT (32) and okay on the SAT (1100).
Honestly, it's been so long and my kids are so young; I no longer feel qualified to have an opinion on this matter. I do think a test needs to be created that can measure aptitude as well as practical reasoning.
Pretty much all of my students take the ACT only. They take so many standardized tests that it seems like just another one. I only took the ACT, and did pretty awesome on it, so I'm glad I didn't take the SAT to knock me down
I got a 1300 on the SAT (back in 2002) but I'm a weirdo who does better on standardized tests than I do regular coursework. Guess I never live up to my aptitude
East Coaster here. I graduated high school in 1999, and took the SAT and a few SAT-IIs. I don't know of anyone that took the ACT. I was actually scheduled to take it, but my grandfather passed away and I never rescheduled. So I was very surprised to read the ACT is the more popular test!
Southeast, took the test in the late 1990s. At the time people thought (correctly?) that the SAT had some, uh, cultural bias, so a few classmates of color took the ACT. I don't know what they did for subject tests.
I agree with the guy quoted in the article that there's no reason to be a guinea pig for the college board, unless you think/know you're 1550+ material already and just want to get it over with.
I missed three reading comprehension questions on the Verbal section, but everyone got those wrong and they were grading on a curve.
No one ever talks about the PSAT. That's the test that got me the scholarship that paid for college. It made a huge difference for me. And before taking it I had no idea it was even important. The teachers just told us it was like a practice test, and being the good little overachiever I was I signed up.
Does a "good" SAT tutor really make that much of a difference? I've awlways wondered about that.
I don't know about the SAT tutor, but for the GMAT, I took it in the fall and did not so great, like 50%. I then sent my DAD to a GMAT prep course (I had to work), just a couple of hour course that gave test taking tips. I read the page of notes he took, and I took it again in the spring. My score went up to somewhere in the 90%iles. It was a good enough score to get me into Emory MBA with a decent tuition grant, and into the B school I went to for free.
No one ever talks about the PSAT. That's the test that got me the scholarship that paid for college. It made a huge difference for me. And before taking it I had no idea it was even important. The teachers just told us it was like a practice test, and being the good little overachiever I was I signed up.
I thought it was a practice one?
It's the qualifier for the National Merit Scholarship.
No one ever talks about the PSAT. That's the test that got me the scholarship that paid for college. It made a huge difference for me. And before taking it I had no idea it was even important. The teachers just told us it was like a practice test, and being the good little overachiever I was I signed up.
I thought it was a practice one?
It is. But it's ALSO the NMSQT - National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. I had never even heard of that until I got a letter that my score had qualified me as a national merit scholarship finalist. That scholarship is the reason I didn't have to get any loans, and I think it's crazy that it was all based on a test that no one thought was important.
I am still annoyed about the 1995 recentering of SAT scores. I liked the old school SAT of my youth.
I took the SAT and ACT and did equally well on both, but I definitely felt like the ACT was easier when taking it. The LSAT is my favorite. Logic games--fun!
I didn't study for the SAT and I did just okay on it. I did study for the LSAT and did quite well.
Studying, and often times $$$ courses/tutors, makes a difference. I think that sucks.
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It does, but there are many programs out there that are attempting to bridge this gap and provide free test prep for students of lower means by big gun tutors. We donate (both time and money) heavily to one such organization.
Also, the company that H works for has never turned down a student due to financial means. They do a ton of pro bono work and community outreach. Not perfect, but it's at least they're aware of the issue and doing their part!
Post by MadamePresident on Mar 9, 2015 10:07:36 GMT -5
I consider myself fairly intelligent, but didn't do really great on the ACT. Its one of the few bad things about being home schooled, and having parents who didn't attend college after high school. I didn't really prepare for the tests, nor did I know you could take it more than once. I did great in college and graduated with honors. With my masters I even had a 4.0.
My younger sister however benefited greatly from my mistakes and got like a 31 or 32.
It does, but there are many programs out there that are attempting to bridge this gap and provide free test prep for students of lower means by big gun tutors. We donate (both time and money) heavily to one such organization.
Also, the company that H works for has never turned down a student due to financial means. They do a ton of pro bono work and community outreach. Not perfect, but it's at least they're aware of the issue and doing their part!
This is awesome!
It's a really, really great company. The founder is a do-gooder and big philanthropist. He really encourages employees to give back and donate their time. My H donates one full day a week in the summer to an organization attempting to bridge the gap.
I consider myself fairly intelligent, but didn't do really great on the ACT. Its one of the few bad things about being home schooled, and having parents who didn't attend college after high school. I didn't really prepare for the tests, nor did I know you could take it more than once. I did great in college and graduated with honors. With my masters I even had a 4.0.
My younger sister however benefited greatly from my mistakes and got like a 31 or 32.
How did your parents homeschool without having college degrees themselves?
I consider myself fairly intelligent, but didn't do really great on the ACT. Its one of the few bad things about being home schooled, and having parents who didn't attend college after high school. I didn't really prepare for the tests, nor did I know you could take it more than once. I did great in college and graduated with honors. With my masters I even had a 4.0.
My younger sister however benefited greatly from my mistakes and got like a 31 or 32.
How did your parents homeschool without having college degrees themselves?
Eh, I am not a big fan of homeschooling in general, but I am not convinced that having a college degree makes one any more competent to homeschool unless the degree is in education. My mom doesn't have a college degree and my dad has an MD, and I am certain my mom would have been the better homeschool teacher (and probably better than 99% of the college degree crowd--she is extraordinarily smart and insanely well read and subbed English and history at my high school frequently despite not having a degree).