THE ROAD AHEAD Navigating College Admission Tests

A Reality Check

A Reality Check

A Reality Check

A Reality Check

A Reality Check

What Colleges Consider

Standardized admission tests

Teacher and counselor recommendations

Class rank

Student’s demonstrated interest

Extracurricular activities

Strength of curriculum

Grades in all courses

90%

87%

87%

59%

58%

50%

46%

49%

34% AP/IB scores

Grades in college prep courses 94%

Essay or writing sample

What Tests are Required?

≈ 850* colleges are “test optional”

Majority of colleges (≈ 1550) require SAT or ACT

Many highly selective colleges (≈ 50) require or recommend

SAT Subject Tests in addition to the SAT or ACT

≈ 20 colleges allow ACT alone in lieu of SAT + Subject Tests

Exceptions with unique twists, e.g. NYU, Colby, Middlebury

Higher Average GPA’s = Diminished Differentiation

Percent of Students

1991 2013

SAT (2013)

0

5

10

15

20

200-240

250-290

300-340

350-390

400-440

450-490

500-540

550-590

600-640

650-690

700-740

750-800

Critical Reading Math Writing

SAT Score Distribution Remains Reliable

 1 11 16  21 26                  31               36

What Does My Score Mean?

50th  percentile

80th  percentile

95th  percentile

99.9th  percentile

ACT

PSAT Compared to Current SAT

PSAT SAT Total Sections/Time 5 sections

2 hours 10 minutes 10 Sections 3 hours 45 minutes

Combined Score 60-240 600-2400 Critical Reading ✔ ✔ Math ✔ ✔ Writing ✔ ✔ Essay ✔ Importance Little to no High Pressure Low High

Aspire Compared to ACT

Aspire ACT Total Sections/Time 5 sections

4 hours 10 minutes 10 Sections 3 hours 55 minutes

Score 1-36 Composite* (est) 1-36 Composite Question Format Some short answer All multiple choice Reading 60 min, 31 questions 35 min, 40 questions Math 65 min, 45 questions 60 min, 60 questions English 40 min, 62 questions 45 min, 75 questions Science 55 min, 40 questions 35 min, 40 questions Writing (essay) 30 min, required 30 min, optional* Importance Little to no High Pressure Low High

National Merit and the PSAT

PSAT Results – Sample Class

Score Change Sophomore to Junior

240

120

200

160

� Sophomore PSAT n Junior PSAT  

Standardized Test Planning

Evaluate pros and cons of the three options: cSAT, rSAT, ACT

Seek out diagnostic test opportunities, especially ACT

Don’t shortchange Subject Tests

Follow best practices around timing and formal preparation

The Decision: ACT, Current SAT, or Revised SAT?

Three choices, but two are compromised

1.  “Old” SAT –  Discontinued as of Jan 2016 –  Accelerated timeline inappropriate for most

2.  “New” SAT –  Practice tests limited and in “beta” form –  Prep materials & strategies speculative –  Debuts Mar 2016, but scores delayed until June 2016

3.  Current ACT –  Bank of dozens of “live” practice tests available –  Prep materials and offerings are well-established –  All test dates available with prompt reporting of scores

The SAT’s Evolving Mission

•  1926: “The SAT is a psychological test designed primarily to assess aptitude for learning rather than mastery of subjects already learned, and to assess ability independently of any school curriculum.”

•  1993:

SAT drops Aptitude from its name, changes the A to stand for Assessment, eventually decides SAT is not an acronym at all

•  2005:

“The SAT measures verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities that students develop over time, both in and out of school.”

Rise of the ACT

2013

SAT Takers 1.7 Million

ACT Takers 1.8 Million

•  Number of students scoring 32-36 on ACT has increased by 70% since 2010  

Rise of the ACT

SAT vs. ACT within the Compass client base •  1994 98% SAT ≈2% ACT

•  2004 80% SAT 20% ACT

•  2014 50% SAT 50% ACT

•  2016* 20% SAT 80% ACT

There’s a New SAT Sheriff in Town

“I have a problem with the SAT Writing.” -and- “The SAT must reflect the kinds of meaningful, engaging, rigorous work that students must undertake in the best high school courses being taught today, thereby creating a robust and durable bond between assessment and instruction.” -David Coleman, President, College Board

Philosophical Shifts of the New SAT

• Shares many of the CCSSI guiding ethics

• Adopts many of ACT’s characteristics

• Now more than ever, tests achievement over aptitude

Highlights of Changes on the New SAT

•  Returns to the 1600-point scale •  Guessing penalty eliminated •  Technically a shorter test at 3 hrs, but not really… •  …because optional* essay is now 50 minutes •  Calculator and non-calculator sections •  Strong emphasis on command of evidence •  Text-heavy, reading-centric •  Source material: non-fiction focus

MATH

MATH EXPERIMENTAL

Similar length, different rhythm and pace

Breakdown of Current SAT vs. ACT

Feature SAT ACT Time 3 hours & 45 minutes 3 hours & 25 minutes

Pace 10 short to medium sections 5 long sections Scale 200-800 per section 1-36 per section Total Score 600-2400 combined 1-36 composite Guessing penalty -1/4 raw point No deduction Order of difficulty Mostly ascending Mostly random Reading Section Mixed length passages, w/ vocab All long passages, no vocab Math Section Mostly Alg I & Geometry, “tricky” Up through Alg II/Trig, “mathy” English Section Varied question format, focused

on grammar “Top 10” rules All passage-based questions,

wider range of rules tested Science Section Absent on SAT Not rocket science Essay First, required, holistic grading Last, optional, rigid grading

Comparing the Tests

Scoring the Redesigned SAT

Current SAT: “Aptitude” Math

17. Four distinct lines lie in a plane, and exactly two of them are parallel. Which of the following could be the number of points where at least two of the lines intersect?

I. Three II. Four III. Five

(A) I only (B) III only (C) I and III only (D) I, II, and III (E) It cannot be determined from the information given.

Guessing Deduction: A Penalty or a Positive?

Which of the following is an equation of a circle with its center at (3,4) and tangent to the x-axis in the standard (x,y) coordinate plane?

A.  (x - 3)2 + (y - 4)2 = 16 B.  (x - 4)2 + (y - 3)2 = 16 C.  (x - 4)2 + (y - 3)2 = 9 D.  (x - 3)2 + (y - 4)2 = 9 E.  (x + 4)2 + (y + 3)2 = 16

(3,4)  

ACT: “Achievement” Math (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 = r2

Center: (h, k)

4  

What Will Math on the New SAT Look Like?

Math An international bank issues its Traveler credit cards worldwide. When a customer makes a purchase using a Traveler card in a currency different from the customer’s home currency, the bank converts the purchase price at the daily foreign exchange rate and then charges a 4% fee on the converted cost. Sara lives in the United States, but is on vacation in India. She used her Traveler card for a purchase that cost 602 rupees (Indian currency). The bank posted a charge of $9.88 to her account that included the 4% fee. PART 1 What foreign exchange rate, in Indian rupees per one U.S. dollar, did the bank use for Sara’s charge? Round your answer to the nearest whole number. PART 2 A bank in India sells a prepaid credit card worth 7,500 rupees. Sara can buy the prepaid card using dollars at the daily exchange rate with no fee, but she will lose any money left unspent on the prepaid card. What is the least number of the 7,500 rupees on the prepaid card Sara must spend for the prepaid card to be cheaper than charging all her purchases on the Traveler card? Round your answer to the nearest whole number of rupees.

•  Contains both Calculator and

Non-Calculator sections

•  Focuses more heavily on Algebra and Data Analysis, with some attention to Trigonometry

•  Involves real world applications

of concepts, including a progression of problems building off of a given scenario

25 Minutes

25 Minutes

10 Minutes

Essay

18Error

Recognitions

6Paragraph

Imp

5Sentence

Improvements

14Sentence

Improvements

Overview of Writing on Current SAT

“Citing Evidence” on the New SAT

Citing Evidence 4. In lines 49-54 (“Prosecutions … sense”), what is the most likely reason Jordan draws a distinction between two types of “parties”? A) To counter the suggestion that impeachment is or should be about partisan politics 5. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question? A)  Lines 13-17 (“It…office”) B)  Lines 20-24 (“The division…astute”) C)  Lines 55-58 (“The drawing…misdemeanors”) D)  Lines 65-68 (“Congress…transportation”)

•  Spans all sections of the test,

including Math

•  Requires students to support their answer choices

•  Challenges students to explain how an author uses evidence to craft an argument

SAT Evolution: Reading Skills vs. Vocabulary

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Antonyms

Analogies

Sentence Completion

Reading

25

20

15

25

40

19

19 19

48

ScholasticAptitude Test(1974 - 1994)

SAT 1(1994-2005)

SAT Reasoning(2005-Present)

Evolution of the Verbal Skills Tested on SAT

Vocab on the New SAT

Vocabulary      “The  nature  of  impeachment:  a  narrowly  channeled  excep<on  to  the  separa<on  of  powers  maxim.  The  Federal  Conven<on  of  1787  said  that.”      

3.  As  used  in  line  37,  “channeled”  most  nearly  means    A)   worn.  B)   sent.  C)   constrained.  D)   siphoned.  

   •  Focuses  on  Tier  2  words  

•  Exploits  words  with  mul<ple  meanings  

 •  Challenges  students  to  derive  

meaning  from  the  context  in  which  words  are  used  

Reading Comp on the New SAT

Source  Material        …“Prosecu<ons  of  impeachments  will  seldom  fail  to  agitate  the  passions  of  the  whole  community,”  said  Hamilton  in  the  Federalist  Papers,  number  65.  “We  divide  into  par<es  more  or  less  friendly  or  inimical  to  the  accused.”  I  do  not  mean  poli<cal  par<es  in  that  sense.  The  drawing  of  poli<cal  lines  goes  to  the  mo<va<on  behind  impeachment;  but  impeachment  must  proceed  within  the  confines  of  the  cons<tu<onal  term  “high  crimes  and  misdemeanors…”  Adapted  from  a  speech  delivered  by  Congresswoman  Barbara  Jordan  of  Texas  on  July  25,  1974,  as  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  CommiDee  of  the  United  States  

House  of  RepresentaIves.  

•  Priori<zes  non-­‐fic<on  over  literature  

 •  Relies  on  Founding  Documents  

(Declara<on  of  Independence,  Cons<tu<on,  Federalist  Papers)  and  works  from  the  “Great  Global  Conversa<on”  

•  Selects  from  a  wide  range  of  topics,  including  science,  history,  and  social  studies  

Top Ten Writing Errors Tested on Current SAT

Pronouns (7-8) Parallelism (5) Verb tense (5) Idioms (4) Verb agreement (3-4) Faulty modification (3-4) Conjunctions (3) Comparisons (2-3) Compound sentences (2-3) Sentence fragments (2)

Grammar on the New SAT

Grammar    

During  his  career,  Kingman  exhibited  his  work  ⁷  interna<onally.  He  garnered  much  acclaim.  In  1936,  a  cri<c  described  one  of  Kingman’s  solo  exhibits  as  “twenty  of  the  freshest,  most  sa<sfying  water  colors  that  have  been  seen  hereabouts  in  many  a  day.”    7.  Which  choice  most  effec<vely  combines  the  sentences  at  the  underlined  por<on?    A)   interna<onally,  and  Kingman  also  garnered  B)   interna<onally;  from  exhibi<ng,  he  garnered  C)   interna<onally  but  garnered  D)   interna<onally,  garnering  

   • Requires  students  to  revise  extended  prose  to  more  accurately  express  an  author’s  intent    • Addresses  a  wider  range  of  punctua<on  

• Tests  frequently  confused  words  such  as  allusion/illusion  

The Essay on the New SAT

Essay As you read the passage below, consider how Paul Bogard uses • evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims. • reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence. • stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed.

[650-750 word Source Text will appear here] Write an essay in which you explain how Paul Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience that natural darkness should be preserved. In your essay, analyze how Bogard uses one or more of the features listed in the box above (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage. Your essay should not explain whether you agree with Bogard’s claims, but rather explain how Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience.

• Is based on a common prompt

• Measures students’ ability to explain how an author crafts an argument

• Rates students on strength of analysis and coherence of writing

SAT Writing + ACT English = Grammar & Rhetorical Skill

(A) Hearing that the college did not have a biotechnology center, a campaign was begun by Adam Dunlop to raise money for the construction of one.

(B) Like other military heroes, the stories about General Patton have

grown more apocryphal over time.

(C) All three of the Crowley brothers had hoped to be at least a finalist in their first rodeo competition.

(D) Neither the circus clown nor the trapeze artist were willing to

perform without a net. (E) An unsuccessful candidate may resubmit their application the

following year.

(A)  Hearing that the college did not have a biotechnology center, Adam Dunlop began a campaign to raise money for the construction of one.

(B) Like the stories about other military heroes, the stories about General Patton have grown more apocryphal over time.

(C) All three of the Crowley brothers had hoped to be at least finalists in

their first rodeo competition. (D) Neither the circus clown nor the trapeze artist was willing to perform

without a net. (E) An unsuccessful candidate may resubmit his or her application the

following year.

ACT Reading: Finding the Low Hanging Fruit  Structure:  •  40  ques<ons  in  35  minutes  •  4  passages:  Fic<on,  Social  Science,  Humani<es,  Natural  Science  •  10  ques<ons  per  passage  

Pacing  Concerns:  •  Average  of  8  minutes  and  45  seconds  per  passage,  to  both  read  and  answer  •  Difficulty  level  of  passages  and  ques<ons  is  random  •  Some  passages  will  likely  be  harder  than  others,  thus  requiring  more  <me  •  Ques<ons  only  contain  line  references  about  50%  of  the  <me    

Ques<ons  1-­‐10  

84%  (no  students  leg  any  of  these  ques<ons  

blank)  

Ques<ons  11-­‐20  

90%  (no  students  leg  any  of  these  ques<ons  

blank)  

Ques<ons  21-­‐30  

69%  (on  average,  8%  of  students  leg  each  of  these  ques<ons  blank)  

Ques<ons  31-­‐40  

43%  (on  average,  14%  of  students  leg  each  of  these  ques<ons  blank)  

ACT Science: Data Analysis  Structure  •  40  ques<ons  in  35  minutes  •  7  passages:  3  Data  Representa<on,  3  Research  Summary,  1  Conflic<ng  Hypotheses  •  5-­‐7  ques<ons  per  passage  •  Contains  liile  to  no  Science  content;  focuses  on  methodology  and  data  analysis  

Pacing  Concerns  •  Average  of  5  minutes  per  passage,  to  both  read  and  answer  •  Difficulty  level  of  passages  and  ques<ons  is  random  •  Some  passages  will  likely  be  harder  than  others,  thus  requiring  more  <me  •  Ques<ons  almost  always  refer  to  specific  components  of  the  passage    Average  percentage  of  students  who  skipped  any  given  ques<on  in…  

Passage  1:  1%  

Passage  2:  1%  

Passage  7:  11%  

Passage  6:  8%  

Passage  4:  2%  

Passage  3:  1%  

Passage  5:  5%  

ACT Science  

ACT Science  

Concordance Table: Current SAT – ACT

ACT Composite

SAT CR+M+W

36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23

2390 2330 2250 2180 2120 2060 2000 1940 1880 1820 1770 1710 1650 1590

SAT Subject Tests

Designed to demonstrate academic achievement in specific subject areas

Scored on 200-800 scale

1 hour each, can take up to 3 subjects in one sitting

Maximize scores by selecting ideal test date

Recommended? Required? How many? Which ones?

SAT Subject Tests

Literature

U.S. History and World History

Math Level 1 and Math Level 2

Biology (E/M), Chemistry, and Physics

Languages: French, Chinese, German, Spanish, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Latin

Amherst College Barnard College Brown University Caltech Carnegie Mellon University Columbia University Cornell University Dartmouth College Duke University Harvard College Harvey Mudd College Haverford College MIT

McGill University Pomona College Princeton University Rice University Swarthmore College Tufts University University of Pennsylvania Vassar College Webb Institute Wellesley College Williams College Yale University

Subject Tests Required

Carleton College Davidson College Emory University George Washington Univ. Georgetown University Johns Hopkins University Lafayette College Lehigh University Northwestern University Stanford University

UC Berkeley UC Irvine UCLA UC San Diego UC Santa Barbara University of Delaware University of Georgia University of Southern CA University of Virginia Washington and Lee University

Subject Tests Recommended*

TEST STRUCTURE (ONE HOUR)

Test Number of Questions Literature 60

U.S. History 90-95 Math 1 & 2 50 Biology E/M 80 Chemistry 85 Spanish 85

TEST SCORING: US HISTORY

Raw score Scaled score 81 - 90 800

70 740 60 680 55 650 50 620 45 590 40 560 35 530 30 510

Recommended Testing Plan for Class of 2017 May 2015 → take the ACT Aspire at Mira Costa

May and/or June 2015 → possibly Subject Test/s

Summer/Fall 2015 → finalize SAT vs. ACT decision, take more diagnostic tests as necessary, determine when to start prep

October 2015 → first administration of “new” PSAT

Oct 2015 – Jan 2016→ final administration of “old” SAT

Feb or Apr 2016 → first official ACT (fully prepared)

Mar or May 2016 → possibly try new SAT

May and/or June 2016 → Subject Tests and/or ACT retake

Fall 2016 → retakes as necessary

“Superscoring”

March SAT Critical Reading 600

Math 650

Writing 550

Combined 1800

October SAT Reading 650

Math 600

Writing 600

Combined 1850

Superscored SAT Reading

Math

Writing

Combined 1900

Repeat Testing: The Data

0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000

One Sitting

Two Sittings

Three Sittings

Four Sittings

Five or more

Students

Score Choice Policies

SAT –  You can select which dates to send, but you cannot send sub-scores (CR, M, or Wr) only –  Most private colleges combine sub-scores from multiple sittings, while

most public colleges do not

ACT –  Same as SAT, except there are few colleges who officially combine sub-

scores from multiple sittings

Subject Tests –  You select which individual scores to send

Score Choice

All Scores Required Yale USC and the UC’s* Tufts Stanford Pomona Penn Johns Hopkins Georgetown Cornell Columbia Colgate Carnegie Mellon Barnard

Score Choice Allowed Williams Wesleyan Wellesley U of Chicago Swarthmore Princeton Northwestern MIT Harvard Duke Dartmouth Brown Amherst

Confusion

The Road Ahead…

Enjoy being 9th and 10th graders!

Refuse to worry too much too early about testing

Determine plan for Subject Tests, if needed

Seek out practice test opportunities

Decide between ACT, cSAT, and rSAT

Maintain perspective

How to Gain Access to Practice Test Opportunities

Connect with Compass in any of the following ways to find dates & locations, reserve a seat, or get help with analysis

•  Fill out tear-off card and return to me

•  Visit po.st/compass and fill out form

•  Email info@compassprep.com

•  Call 310-550-0300

Page 48-49

Q & A…

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Suite 235 Larkspur, CA 94939

(415) 464-8600