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Industry update
The LSAT Perhaps in response to the dwindling number of Law School applications, several Law Schools have moved to make the LSAT optional for admissions. The ABA has ruled that Law Schools may fill up to 10% of their classes with students who have not taken the LSAT. A key element of the ruling is that these LSAT-optional folks must have a strong track record of standardized test scores. In a broad sense, this underscores and supports the idea of test preparation and we suspect that the LSAT prep demand will increase when Law School applications rebound. The MCAT Elsewhere, the New MCAT is set for April 17th. Here is a quick infographic from The Stanford Daily on the changes.  You can see a detailed look at the MCAT question types by section here. The big takeaway for tutoring folks? Be sure to enlist the services of science subject specialists. There will be a trailing increase in tutoring demand for at least the next 12 months as AAMC normalizes the curve. SAT, PSAT, ACT And, earlier this month, the College Board announced some new information about the Redesigned SAT (rSAT)as well as theRedesigned PSAT. (rPSAT). With thanks to the folks at Compass Education Group, this is what we understand to be the latest: 1. Rather than four practice tests, the CB will be developing eight practice tests; four of those tests will be developed by Khan Academy with close oversight by the CB. 2. The first (and currently the only) Mock PSAT practice test will be released this month (March 2015). 3. The first four rSAT Practice Tests will be released sometime in May, 2015. We have read that the tests will be released in hard copy form through a New Official SAT Study Guide AND virtually through Khan Academy. The full article by Adam Ingersol at Compass Education Group is available here.
Meanwhile, ACT announced its 2015-16 Test Dates for District Testing and continues to report stellar growth in its number of test takers. In the most recent ACT College Readiness Report, ACT notes that over 1.8M students took the ACT in 2014 (ACT reports this is an 18% increase over 2013). Are you ready to prep more ACT folks?
Learn more about us or schedule a free consultation through the Test Prep Professionals quick scheduler. |
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Friday, May 1, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
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Updates on the rSAT, rPSAT, and the ACT
In late February, the College Board announced some new information about the Redesigned SAT (rSAT)as well as the Redesigned PSAT. (rPSAT). With thanks to the folks at Compass Education Group, this is what we understand to be the latest:
1. Rather than four practice tests, the CB will be developing eight practice tests; four of those tests will be developed by Khan Academy with close oversight by the CB. 2. The first (and currently the only) Mock PSAT practice test will be released this month (March 2015). 3. The first four rSAT Practice Tests will be released sometime in May, 2015. We have read that the tests will be released in hard copy form through a New Official SAT Study Guide AND virtually through Khan Academy. The full article by Adam Ingersol at Compass Education Group is available here.
Meanwhile, ACT announced its 2015-16 Test Dates for District Testing and continues to report stellar growth in its number of test takers. In the most recent ACT College Readiness Report, ACT notes that over 1.8M studentstook the ACT in 2014 (ACT reports this is an 18% increase over 2013). Are you ready to prep more ACT folks?
Learn more about us or schedule a free consultation through the Test Prep Professionals quick scheduler. |
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Thursday, February 5, 2015
ACT, SAT, Redesigned SAT?
There is likely to be a spate (yes a spate) of calls to your office with questions about which test (ACT, SAT, Redesigned SAT) is recommended for the class of 2016. This class could theoretically take the current SAT in 2015 and then the Redesigned SAT in Spring of 2016.
The answer to this question is relative to a number things including a student's strengths and weaknesses, state testing orientation, and to some extent, game theory. To that last point, there is currently no disincentive to take all three tests or to take all three tests more than once! While we don't recommend that level of gamesmanship, we know that there are parents out there who will see that option as viable. The option to take multiple tests, multiple times is possible because many universities will superscore the current and Redesigned SAT during a time when students will still have the option through Score Choiceto determine which test (ACT. SAT, or Re/SAT) to submit. While this approach may be viable and even effective, this game theory strategy could potentially distract students from focusing on what we know to be more important admissions criteria: GPA and course rigor. Here is a fairly pragmatic decision tree to help parents out:
-Remind parents of the importance of GPA and course selection.
-Suggest parents call the schools to which their student plans to apply in order to determine what the school recommends.
-If the answer is unclear, recommend the student take an ACT diagnostic and Current SAT diagnostic.
-Use a concordance table as well as a thoughtful conversation with the student to review comfort level and acheivement on the tests.
-Explain that in an ideal situation, one would take the test of choice once and score the best at that time (but that is easier said and is as mentioned idealistic).
-Become familiar with the Redesigned SAT and direct parents/students to the recently released sample questions available through the College Board site.
-Explain that a sample Redesigned SAT should be available in March 2015 should the student want to try it out. -Reiterate the importance of GPA and course rigor as crucial to the decision-making process. It is our hope that this advice will help you help the parents of the Class of 2016. Having said that, positioning one's business in light of the changing environment is an important step to consider as well. There should be an unprecedented windfall for folks who anticipate and plan with deliberate intent. No matter what is recommended, we will be seeing more test takers this year. More to come on that... |
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