Calvary Christian High
School Test Type
Presentation
Presenter: Kofi Bempah
Phone: 1-800-2Review
Website: PrincetonReview.com
1
Introduction
Kofi Bempah
Territory Manager for West
and Central Florida
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Agenda
Testing Timeline
ACT ASPIRE
PSAT
SAT
ACT
SAT v. ACT
How The Princeton Review Can Help
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Testing Timeline
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Testing Timeline
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What is the ACT Aspire?
• No more PLAN
• A standards-based system of
assessments to monitor progress toward
college and career readiness from grade 3
through early high school, connecting
each grade level to the next
Why Take the ACT Aspire
• To get an idea of where the students are on the
spectrum of learning
When to Take the ACT Aspire
• From grade 3 through early high
school
What is the PSAT/NMSQT?
Stands for Preliminary SAT /
National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test
PSAT
Frequency 2 test dates in October
Duration 2 hours 10 minutes
Sections math, critical reading, writing
Cost
$14
Max. Score 80 in each section;
240 overall
Avg. Score 141 for 11th graders
Quick Facts
Why Take the PSAT
So, why do we take it?
• It determines your eligibility for a National Merit Scholarship
• Approximately 50,000 juniors with the highest PSAT Score
(roughly the top 3% of junior testers) are notified that they
qualify for NMSP recognition
• Practice test for the SAT
» You’ll get an idea of how standardized tests work
» See how you perform in a high-pressure testing
situation
» You get SCORES to give you a starting point
When to Take the PSAT
To qualify for a National Merit Scholarship
award the test must be taken in a student’s
junior year of high school.
SAT Quick Facts
SAT
Frequency
Duration
Sections
Cost
Max. Score
Avg. Score
quick facts
7 times/year
3 hours, 45 minutes
3 Sections
Math, Critical Reading, Writing
$50
800 per section
Math
Reading
Writing
516
501
492
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Why Take the SAT
So, why do we take it?
• Colleges use it as an admissions qualifier
• Schools Consider:
• SAT/ACT
• High school GPA
• Academic transcript
• Letters of recommendation
• Interviews
• Personal essays
When to Take the SAT
Most students take the SAT for the first time
during the spring of their junior year and a
second time during the fall of their senior
year.
What’s on the SAT?
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Why Students Struggle with the SAT
SAT
High School
Number of Questions on
the exams
Designed so you can’t
finish or you really have to
rush to finish
Designed so you can finish
Answer Choices
Written to trick students
and filled with common
errors
Goal is to assess
strength’s and
weaknesses, not to try to
get a student to answer all
questions incorrectly!
Essay
25 min
Hours & weeks
Reading
Under serious time
constraints
Read at home
Writing
GRAMMAR!
Grammar has little
emphasis in most schools
Math
Intentionally hard to
Straight forward
understand and convoluted
SAT
What do SAT Scores
Really Measure?
How well you take the SAT
SAT
• Don’t take your scores personally.
• SAT scores are NOT a measure of your
intelligence.
• Anybody, with the proper coaching, can learn how
to increase their scores.
SAT Scoring
What happens when you answer?
If you get it right… You get a point!
If you leave it blank… You gain/lose nothing!
If you get it wrong… You lose ¼ of a point!
Your Scores
Low Scores
Lowest
SAT = 600
Medium Scores
Middle
SAT = 1500
High Scores
Highest
SAT = 2400
Where will your scores take you?
School
SAT Score
University of Central Florida
1700 - 1960
University of Miami
1905 – 2115
University of South Florida
1670 - 1920
Florida State University
1750 - 2000
Florida International University
1600 - 1850
University of Florida
1840 - 2140
The SAT® is Changing—and
We're On It
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED
TO KNOW.
The changes will impact students in the
class of 2017.
If you’re in the class of 2015 or 2016,
you won’t be affected.
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•
•
•
•
Affects Class of 2017 and beyond.
Class of 2015 and 2016 will take current SAT.
Class of 2017 may have option to take both tests.
Revised PSAT will take place in October 2015 before
the redesigned SAT rolls out in Spring 2016.
Whether it's new or old, a test is still a test. All
standardized tests are coachable and it all starts with
creating a plan to set yourself up for success.
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ACT Quick Facts
ACT
Frequency
Duration
Sections
Cost
Max. Score
Avg. Score
quick facts
6 times/year
3 hours, 3½ hours including essay
5 Sections
English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing
$34 - $49.50
36
21
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Why Take the ACT
So, why do we take it?
• Colleges use it as an admissions qualifier
• Schools Consider:
• SAT/ACT
• High school GPA
• Academic transcript
• Letters of recommendation
• Interviews
• Personal essays
When to Take the ACT
Most students take the ACT for the first time
during the spring of their junior year and a
second time during the fall of their senior
year.
What’s on the ACT?
Essay – technically optional, but YOU SHOULD DO THE ESSAY!
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Your Scores
What happens when you answer…on the ACT?
If you get it right… You get a point!
If you leave it blank… You gain/lose nothing!
If you get it wrong… You still gain/lose nothing!
Your Scores
Low Scores
Lowest
ACT = 1
Medium Scores
Middle
ACT = 21
High Scores
Highest
ACT = 36
Where will your scores take you?
School
ACT Score
University of Central Florida
25 -29
University of Miami
29-32
University of South Florida
27 -29
Florida State University
26-30
Florida International University
23-26
University of Florida
28-32
What’s a good score?
A good score for you is the score that helps you
get into (and pay for) the school you want to
attend.
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SAT v. ACT
All colleges accept either test
These are tests of skill and with practice any student
can improve his/her scores
These tests are not like the tests students are used to
taking in school
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SAT v. ACT v. High School Tests
Tests are LONG!
Too many questions
Trap answers
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SAT v. ACT
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SAT vs. ACT
Signs you might prefer the SAT
• You’re a quick thinker who loves the challenge of
puzzles and logic games
• You can rapidly define a plethora of onerous vocabulary
words
• You prefer to write about WWII and The Great Gatsby
than about school uniforms
• You have a shorter attention span and prefer to complete
the exam in small, more
‘bite-sized’ pieces.
• You rocked the PSAT. Stick with what’s working.
SAT vs. ACT
Signs you might prefer the ACT
• You pay close attention in math class
• You love the challenge of beating the clock
• You’re good at reading graphs and tables
• You’re a strong reader
•
You have a strong GPA, but did not do all that well on
the PSAT
Testing Dates
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How many times?
Prepare to take SAT or ACT once, plan to take at least
twice, and do not take either test more than 3 times.
If you take the SAT multiple times, then you can send all of
your scores and many colleges will take your best score
from each subject. It’s called SuperScore!
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Now What?
How will you prep?
On your own?
In a class or with a tutor?
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Now What?
We prep for all the tests.
We teach content and strategies.
Intensive instructor training.
Various options for prep.
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Getting In
If you’re going to be a number… be a big one!
SAT: 2400
ACT: 36
The End
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PrincetonReview.com
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