To Test Or Not To Test

To test or not to test?  Post-COVID, that is the question

The pandemic led in-person college admissions exams to be abruptly cancelled and forced universities to adopt ad-hoc policies that have still not been completely normalized.

If you or your child are navigating the college admissions journey, you know it’s become a minefield of test options and requirements–and if you’ve been through it yourself, you know how stressful the process can be.

Tune in to this week’s N.E.T. Collective Podcast as we discuss the SAT and ACT! In this conversation we cover what these tests are and how they’re different, whether you or your child should take one, and, if so, which one. Learn which skillsets are best showcased by which exam; suss out the differences between test blind, optional, and required policies. Most importantly, join us in a conversation that remembers the human in all of it.

Join us @ netcollective.org or wherever you get your podcast. We’re here to help you: Navigating Everything Together, from classroom to college to careers & beyond. One conversation at a time.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Test prep is a big is a big thing. If a family is deciding do I do I spend all this money, hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on getting my child test prep, how effective is that and how necessary is that? And what if families can't do that?

Kay 0:17

I just see a lot of anxiety around this, both from a parental standpoint and from a student standpoint. Whether or not to take the test, period. Welcome to Net Collective, where we navigate everything together. From classroom to college to careers and beyond.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

I'm Kay McGrudy, career coach and founder of Waterville Partners. I'm Vanita Patel, school psychologist in private practice.

Ruth 0:37

I'm Ruth Hayes, education professional and founder of Fultio Prep.

Kay 0:42

Net Collective, navigating everything together, one conversation at a time. Hi there, this is Kay. Welcome to Net Collective, where today we're going to be discussing test prep.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

My palms are already sweating. Mine too. This is Vanita. And today we're going to be talking about SAT and ACT test prepping. So, Ruth, tell us what we need to know.

Ruth 1:05

Yeah, so we're going to get into it. Like you said, this is a huge topic, very emotionally fraught for a lot of people, a lot of families. Today we're really going to be focusing on a couple of questions about the college admissions process. Before we get there, um, what do you all think of when you hear SAT or ACT?

Kay 1:22

Aside from the sweaty palms, um, I have flashbacks because I took a test SAT and I took it three times and I got sick during one of them. And so, you know, I don't have great memories from that time. Gotcha, gotcha. What about you, Vanita?

SPEAKER_01 1:37

I think of anxiety, I think of uncertainty, I think of my families that have a lot of questions about which ones to take. So I'm really glad we're gonna be starting with that. And I also think of the amount of money people are spending on prepping for these tests and because of the high stakes nature of it. So yeah, let's get started.

Ruth 1:59

Yeah, very high stakes. Today we really want to focus on answering three questions. So, what even are these tests? Should you or your student be taking one to submit as part of your college admissions package? And if so, which one should you be taking? So uh let's start with that first one, right? SAT versus ACT. So a few basic differences. ACT is scored out of 36, SAT is scored out of 1600s. Both will be accepted by any school. They're pretty much interchangeable in terms of what you want to submit. It's what's going to best showcase your skills. Um, one of the main differences is in the content. So SAT is broken down only into a reading and writing section and a math section. ACT, on the other hand, has a reading section, an English section, which is more grammar and punctuation, those types of things, a math section, and then they also have two optional sections, um, which are essay and science.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Okay. And can I ask you a question right there with the optional? What makes them optional and how do you know if you should do the optional portions?

Ruth 3:05

Yeah, they're optional in the sense that you don't have to take them at all. You can uh they average out the score, so you get a 36 score on each of those sections for the ACT, and then they make a composite. So you just don't have to do that. You can go home if you want to. It's two hours and 45 minutes, including the science. You can just leave after two hours and five minutes. Um if you want to really showcase your STEM skills, if you're going to apply to a school for perhaps a specific department or discipline that wants to see that, you might want to do it. The writing essay, um uh they call it the writing section, but it's the essay section um for the ACT, is really a your basic five-paragraph essay. I would say do it if you're wanting another space outside of the common app to showcase your writing skills and if you think that's gonna help you.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

But but here's the thing um colleges will not look at your actual essay on the ACT test. You they're just gonna see the score. They're gonna see the score. Yeah, but they're gonna see the actual what you wrote. So that's not going to be a good thing. Top factory. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Okay.

Ruth 4:06

So see your writing skills. Exactly. So if you want to kind of showcase that a little bit more. Gotcha. Okay. Exactly. The other difference is going to be between a linear assessment and an adaptive test. So unpack that for us, buddy. Let's unpack those. So a linear assessment is basically what you're used to a test being. Everyone gets handed out the same thing. They go from one to whatever in order, and you're all graded on the same scale. Um, that's what the ACT is. Everyone at a on a certain test date will get the exact same test, they'll all take it. Um, all the questions will be in the same order, you'll go from there. SAT, on the other hand, is adaptive. Um, so there are two modules in each of those sections. So for reading and writing, it's cut in half. You do one module, um, and that kind of sorts you into the second one. So depending on how you do on that first module, you'll either get a more difficult one that gives you the opportunity to earn more points, or a less difficult one that gives you the opportunity for fewer points, but you're more likely to pick up those points on if you didn't do as well on the first one.

Kay 5:06

I'm assuming that that's online then, because you can't do that on paper, right?

Ruth 5:11

Okay. Exactly. And there's a there's another um ch difference between them as well. There is an online ACT, but you can still take the ACT with uh pen and paper. Um SAT is completely digital right now. Um so and we'll talk a little bit about that as we get into which test is best for you or for your student. Um, but that is a pretty key difference right now.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

So can I just clarify one statement that you made about the adaptive? So that is with the SAT, correct? And if you start out at a high point, meaning you're getting more correct, more correct, does that already put you in an advantage with regards to your overall score? Or not not necessarily?

Ruth 5:51

That's a great question. You can think of the first module in either the reading and writing or the math as its own little linear assessment. Everyone takes the same one. And depending on how you perform on that one, you'll either be slotted into the more difficult or the less difficult second module. Okay. Gotcha. And is there only two modules? Yes, you can get it. Yeah. And there are other tests. If we can, you know, down the line we'll talk about graduate admissions and all that. There's some tests that adapt question to question. This is really just one sort at the end in between those two modules. Got it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

And when you get your scores back, does it say what module you were plugged into?

Ruth 6:26

It doesn't tell you, but you can usually tell. Um if there's a jump up in the difficulty of the questions after you get to that second one or a step down, you can you can kind of feel it, which one you're getting into. Gotcha. Um and then the other key difference is that the ACT is passage-based, while the SAT uses standalone questions. What does that mean? So on, say, the reading section of the ACT, you'll get one longish passage, maybe 250 to 500 words, you read that and then answer a bank of eight to ten questions on that passage. Um whereas on the SAT, each question is completely standalone. So you might have a paragraph that's there that you read and answer a question about, um, but it's not gonna have anything to do with the questions before or after. Um and again, we'll talk about how that can play to one's skill set or another. Um, I think advantages are that you can really get a clean start. So if there's a particular passage that isn't making a lot of sense to you, say on you know the ACT reading, you're really kind of stuck in it, whereas you're able to flip over to something else on the SAT.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

There's no reset button on the which one is that?

Ruth 7:38

On the ACT. On the ACT, right. Right. Okay. And all the sections are like that. So for English, you'll have one um long passage that's thematically tied together, and then you'll go through and do grammar and punctuation questions. Whereas on the SAT, you'll just have a couple of sentences to read and then they'll ask you about, you know, where does this comma go or whatever.

Kay 7:57

So how does uh as a parent or as a student, how do you decide which one of those you might be better suited for?

Ruth 8:04

Um so we're gonna get to that third. I want to talk a little bit about whether to no, don't be sorry at all. That is a great question. I want to talk a little bit about whether or not to take the test, period. And then we'll get into which one to take the test.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

But before we even do that, because there was a lot of distinctions between the two. If you were to give us, our listeners, three or four different characteristics of each one, can you do that? ACT. What are the three or four bullet points of that right now? So we can, you know, organize it in our minds. Absolutely.

Ruth 8:39

And also if you go to our website after this, you'll be able to see information about this. I'll have a chart that compares both. Um key features of ACT: it is a linear assessment. Everyone takes the same test. ACT is also passage-based. So you'll have math is different, math, you'll have more standalone things, although there are some math questions that will be grouped together. But on the science section, that's optional, and definitely on that reading and writing section, you'll have a longer passage with a bank of questions that goes to it. Um That's all ACT. That's all ACT. And then the ACT you can take either as an online assessment or you can take the traditional way with pencil and paper and Scantron. Gotcha. Okay. So SAT on the flip side, that is an adaptive exam. So everyone takes their two sections, reading and uh and writing, and then math. Everyone takes the same first module for each of those. And then depending on how well you you do, you're either sorted into a more difficult module, which allows you to pick up more points or a less difficult module that's gonna be a little bit easier to accomplish, but isn't worth as many points overall. Okay. Um and then the SAT is only offered digitally. So you're gonna be taking it online, you're gonna be using a screen, even though you can have your scratch paper on the side, you won't be able to mark up the actual test. And there and now there are kind of cross-out and highlight features, but it's not the same as being able to physically manipulate the things.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

And Ruth, do you know if um, in terms of reputation and cachet, does that really matter out there, or is it really university college dependent?

Ruth 10:13

It really it's dependent on the school, and we'll get into that on it. That's actually a great segue into whether or not you should be taking these tests. Yeah. Um, because it really the main thing I want to say is that either one you submit, it's totally fine. There's no real difference between them. But how important it is for your overall application um really depends on the school. Okay. Um so to back up, there are three ways that schools can address these tests. You can either be test blind, test optional, or test required. Um, what does all that mean? Before the pandemic, almost everyone was test required. They wanted you to submit an SAT or ACT score no matter what. You wouldn't have a complete application without it. Now, what happened when we hit March 2020? A ton of these tests got canceled. Everyone was doing it in person in these big rooms. It couldn't happen. So a lot of schools, almost all of them, immediately switched to test blind because people weren't gonna be able to come in and sit down for the tests. You you can't compare people that way. And then as we kind of got a little bit deeper into the pandemic, almost all the schools went test optional. So they'll accept a score if you have one. If you don't have one, it's not gonna hurt you. Um now that's kind of where we are right now. Almost all schools are officially test optional, although it can help you a lot to submit those scores. Notably, we're seeing the Ivy Leagues really coming back to the test required. Um, starting in 2023 with Harvard and Brown, they started moving in that direction. And as of next year, as of the uh 27-28 school year that they're um admitting for their yeah, that they're applying for, only Columbia is going to be test optional out of all the Ivy Leagues. So that kind of gives you a sense of where the more selective schools are going. Um and really the question of to test or not to test also goes into what caliber of school you're looking for. Because it can definitely help you having especially a strong test score, and it can help you more the more selective the school is. And so just to give you a couple of quick examples from the area, so um both Northwestern University of Chicago are extremely selective. They accept uh 7% and 5% respectively of everyone else, of everyone who applies. Um and for those schools, over 80% of students who are accepted submit a score.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

But are those schools test optional? Yes. Really? As of today. As of today. They are still test optional. They are still test optional. At being that highly selective. Yes. But then I wonder, does it hurt? Well, like you said, 80% are submitting. Exactly. And I'm sure though that 80% has good test scores on either one of those tests, right? Exactly. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't submit it. I really wonder if I could be a fly on the wall in those admissions meetings as they're going through candidates, and they find someone with a fantastic GPA, a fantastic resume, a leader, et cetera, but didn't submit scores because they just didn't take it because of the things that you had said post-pandemic and you know, just or they're not good test takers. I wonder if that really is gonna hurt them, even though the schools are saying they're test optional. I wonder.

Ruth 13:32

You know what? It will unless the test score itself would hurt more. Um that's really the calculus, I think. Because if you have one, it's sort of like, you know, pre-pandemic, the SAT subject tests. If you have one, you have a good score, it's gonna help you a lot and you should send it in. But you're only gonna send it in if you have that quality score.

Kay 13:51

Gotcha. Yeah, it's interesting too, because I think that with the test optional, the people that have the higher scores, they're like, of course I would submit. And so they would submit. And then I believe some of the data that we're seeing out of these colleges with here's our average test score, well, it's the average test score of what's been submitted. Exactly. Not of the class in totality. So I think you're seeing some artificial inflation in some of the statistics. So if somebody gets a good score or a a a reasonable score, they may or may not submit it because they're not elite. You know, exactly. And that's not realistic.

Ruth 14:28

Yeah, it's had uh kind of interesting effects on who applies where. Um, and this is why a lot of people are turning towards requiring, at least suggesting them more. Um we one of the rare exceptions to that is the University of California system, um, which is still completely test blind right now, but a lot of people are telling them to kind of go back to requiring or at least considering tests because they can give a lot of useful information. There's actually a little bit of an aside. There's just a report put out by uh the University of California San Diego working group on admissions that showed since they've gone test blind, there's actually been a decrease in preparedness for the freshman classes, more remediation needed, um, lower retention, those sorts of things. So there is kind of a move back to it.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

So it sounds like that study is saying that data point of seeing what our newcoming candidates or newcoming students, um, that that test score is helpful in helping us understand if they're prepared for our school system.

Ruth 15:30

Aaron Powell Exactly. Because one of the things that I think is unintentional is people who don't have that test score, who wouldn't feel confident to maybe apply somewhere with the test score they have, because it's test optional, or in this case test blind, they'll they'll shoot their shot anyway. And they'll go for it. So there's kind of a stratification happening in the applicants, which is, I think, a very um unexpected consequence of that. Um so I would say if you can eke out a score that's gonna be you know good, and you can look up this information, you know, what are what's the 25th and 75th percentile of test scores for the admitted class? If you can get yourself in there, absolutely do it. If you have a really, really strong um test uh application portfolio, otherwise, you've got classes, you've got APs, um, you've got uh you know community service and extracurriculars and all this stuff, and it's a really, really weak spot otherwise, and you know, you put a little bit of work into it, you're you're not getting there, then I would say it's worth it to consider um applying test optional. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Okay. And when you do apply, is there like a box on the common app? Or I know U of C doesn't do the common app, but is there a box that says test optional, I'm not submitting, I am submitting, or or is it just understood that if I don't submit it, then clearly I'm not wanting you to see it.

Ruth 16:48

Yeah, so you you actually do that kind of on the test level. So you can either do it after the fact when you get your scores back, you can report them to the individual schools. Um but if you know where you're applying, which most people do when they sit down for an official exam, you can also check off where you want those scores to be sent. Okay. Um, and they can do it for you automatically.

Kay 17:05

Right. But I think that if people want to know, well, I don't want to send it to them if it's not the right score. So I think a I think there's a a number of people who are saying, I'm gonna have my list of X number of schools, I'm gonna take the test, and then depending on if it's um something that I'm proud of or that I think would help my application, I'll send it. And then you just have to go in and check on the college board or you know, one of the websites where you want it sent. Exactly. And then you can send it to those schools.

Ruth 17:32

Okay. Yeah. And I would suggest, and this kind of brings us into the next piece of conversation, which is how to decide between SAT and ACT. I would absolutely 110% recommend doing a practice exam before you do anything official. It's gonna save you time and energy and money for one, but there are a decent amount of schools who'll want to see all of your scores. Not all of them, but some of them will. So I think it's good to just have a no-pressure, you know, give it a try, see what it's like, see what it feels like to sit there for that two and a half, three hours, um, and then start to make some decisions after that.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

For for both or just a practice. Well, actually, the Illinois, you know, if you're a listener and you're in your teen is in an Illinois high school, I believe Illinois has adopted ACT only. Right. So I know my like my freshmen last year they took the P S A T for freshmen, P A C T, sorry, for freshmen, and this year they will be taking the P A C T for sophomores. So that's embedded in most of the high schools. I think it is in the high schools in Illinois.

Ruth 18:34

In Illinois. And it's kind of regional. Mostly the Midwest is and the plains are going to do ACT. Um, East and West Coast, they'll have school-based like SATs. Um it's a little bit regional that way. But I would suggest definitely trying the one that's not offered by your school just to see if it strikes you a little bit better, especially with the difference between paper and digital. I think that can be a big one. Um and so we maybe Vanita, you have a little bit to say about this too, because it can really make a difference whether or not you can mark up the actual paper.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

I think it does. I think it depends on your processing and learning profile. So I know that if if if uh you're a student who has, let's say, visual spatial issues or visual tracking issues, then you know, you you want to pick the test that is that's gonna suit what how you process that information. You know, so um I would really get a s a good sense of, you know, if you're if you're a digital learner, you know, you read your textbooks online, there's no issues, and I think it's fine to take it on digital. But if you have a hard time with visual tracking, you know, making sure the bubbles match with the correct, you know, uh question, you might that might not be the best form for you, the paper pencil standardly. You know. So yeah. And there's make sure you know the best way that you're tracking the information and processing the information.

Ruth 19:55

Yes. And that is a great thing to know about yourself. Um, just kind of what your learning profile is, um, how you're going to approach these things. Because that's also, if you think about, you know, as a linear or adaptive um assessment better for me. It also goes to what strategy you're able to use, right? Because, you know, those sections are broken up on the SAT, you're you have the potential to gain a lot more points if you get to the more difficult one. But then on the ACT, you can move back and forth between one section. You can kind of come at it a little bit differently in terms of skipping some questions and coming back to them because you don't have to get everything done in that first half. So just thinking about the way you're approaching it, how you generally take tests, all of those can can be factors.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

And I assume we're gonna be doing a couple of episodes on the test taking strategies in general, and test anxiety. And, you know, for those of you who have accommodations like extra time, you know, or taking the test in a quieter setting, those all are factors that can really um you know impact the outcome.

Kay 21:00

Well, and beyond the ACT and SAT, you've got, you know, the pre-1s that we talked about, but you've got high school testing, and then on the other side, you've got graduate testing, right? With all of the, you know, GMATs and MCATs and those types of things, L S A Ts. So I mean, there's a lot of different testing beyond just this SAT, ACT, but I think the ACT-SAT is a big one.

Ruth 21:22

Oh, it's a huge one. And that's the one that most people think of when you know they think of these tests, and most people put the most investment into. Um, we will talk in the future. That's a great thing to bring up that there are, if you're applying to a private high school, for example, you might need to take the SSAT or the HSPT. Oh, right. Exactly. So there are some other ones. They all have slightly different approaches to them, um, and it can be worth it again to try those on for size. Um before we uh get into some of those other topics that we'll look at in the future, any questions either from your own experience or that you see come up a lot with your Clients. What are people wondering about this?

Kay 22:02

I just see a lot of anxiety with parents and with students about this test and how it's going to play out in the whole college admissions process. And it's one piece of the puzzle. It is but one piece of their story and the and um their application. And so I think being aware, like you've pointed out, you know, what's your style and and which test might be better for them and then to submit or not submit, do they need help prepping for those? I mean, those are all real questions. But I I just see a lot of anxiety around this, both from a parental standpoint and from a student standpoint.

Ruth 22:38

Oh, 100%. And I see that, you know, with the families I work with, there can be kind of this residual anxiety from your own testing experiences as you're going into. Absolutely. They can't see your face when you tell us what you're engaging in.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Right, right, right. I know. You saw it on my face. Yeah. I have two questions. One, um test prep is a big, is a big thing, right? You know, especially uh around some some certain areas more than others. How if a family is deciding, do I, do I spend all this money, hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on getting my child test preps, you know, tutors and stuff, how effective is that and how necessary is that? And what if families can't do that? Where's how do we even address that question? Because it goes to the, you know, um I I'm big into equality of education, right? And that that's that that's nice, that's a nice theory, but in practice, some are more privileged than others, right? So how could how do how do we address that issue?

Ruth 23:44

Great to prep to prep or not to prep? To prep or not to prep. That is the question. Great kind of bundle of questions there. And I'm gonna pull them apart. So stop me if I'm missing anything. Um so first of all, I think it really, really depends on the student, how much you want to invest and how much potential there is. And the first thing I would think about, you know, not to be a broken record on it, take a practice exam. That's gonna give you so much information. But if you're gonna talk to someone about it, a tutor or consultant, the questions I would be asking are, what are the issues here? Um, because someone can miss a question on a standardized test for a lot of reasons. They can miss it because they're anxious and they just can't see what's happening on the page, even though they know the material. They can miss it because they just don't know the material and they need to learn it, or they can miss it because they know and understand the material, but they don't understand how it's laid out. Um, and you're absolutely right about how these tests have a very complicated and messy relationship with equality and inequality in education. And that is a huge conversation that I would love to have with you another day. But suffice it to say that the whole reason for introducing standardized tests was to standardize things so that even students who went to different school districts had access to different types of instruction, can show what they know and what they know how to do in one spot. The problem with that is that test taking is a skill like any other. Just because you're good at math doesn't mean you're gonna be good at the math SAT. Just because you're an excellent writer doesn't mean you're gonna be good at that English section on the ACT. Because it tends to ask you, when you take tests at school, they tend to ask you complicated questions in straightforward ways. Whereas a standardized test will often ask you a very straightforward question that is dressed up with a lot of razzle dazzle and backstory to make you feel like there's more there than it is. So I would want to sort out why it is that you're missing these questions. And if it's content, I would almost rather work with content than with some of the other issues because if you need to learn the thing and go ahead and apply it, that's one thing. But kind of working with yourself in terms of how you move through an assessment and how you feel about it and how you react to it, I would say is almost the more difficult task. But I think both can really, really respond to test prep. And there are three levels of that you can prepare on your own. Um, the digital SAT actually, in the service of wanting to be more egalitarian, has some great prep materials in their digital platform, although they're much more effective if you work with a professional. Um you can take a class, there are a lot of classes floating around, we can talk about the options there. Um and then regardless of those other two options, you always can work with an individual tutor. And I think especially if you need to work on a lot of the pacing and anxiety and kind of um tangential aspects to it, that can be really useful. And a tutor can also be really useful in terms of getting you up to speed if you just you know haven't taken pre-calc yet, but you can get there on all the other subjects.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

So And you know, um I I think even many of the high schools will offer, you know, for juniors or maybe even sophomores, I'm not sure exactly when it starts, but you can take a class like on a Tuesday evening and it's like six or eight weeks long for those who can't afford a private one-on-one tutor. So, you know, and also I think, you know, um Con Academy may have some great videos short videos on um, you know, SAT, ACT prep questions. Again, for for for those who who don't have the resources, or there's also um YouTube, you know. I just think it's important to like say that look, because you can't afford or don't have the time for a private one-to-one tutor, there are other resources out there. Try to make it equitable. And I love how you said the whole point of standardized testing is to standardize them. Exactly. But if someone is coming in with hours and hours and hours of private one-to-one time, that's really not standardization for the prepping part, right? So there we it it would be nice if it was all equal and balanced. And that's just not how the world works in general.

Ruth 27:58

Yeah, unfortunately. But you know, you know, the way the world does work is you can always give yourself that leg up. So I think it can be really and you're and you're absolutely right, Fine. There are lots of ways that you can do that. There are other ways, right, to find the resources. Yeah. And I would even say, especially if you're being budget conscious, start with that class, see how that goes. And then if you need to work on a few areas with a private tutor, go there. Right. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. Anything else? Uh, that's pretty much what I have. I wanted to take a couple of minutes to touch on some other important topics with testing because this is so broad. Right. Um, in the future, I would love to sit down and talk about accommodations with you, Vanita. Can you just define that term in this context for our listeners?

SPEAKER_01 28:41

Uh so accommodations with testing. So, you know, um, accommodations really mean you would be getting accommodations if you have an educational impact. It's it's impacting you negatively enough to where you need to be on an equal playing field with your um peers, right? And so what that could look like is there's been enough data to support the fact that you need extra time on tests, and that could look like time and a half, or some some kids have are, you know, the slower, slower processors have double time, you know, and that has to come through what's called either your IEP, your individualized educational plan, or a 504 plan. Okay. So that has to be formally documented on either one of those, those educational documents, okay? And the college board, which is a governing body that um, you know, sits, I'm I'm not sure if they sit with the ACT SAT, but I know they're the ones that can approve what accommodations you take. They have to decide that, yes, this individual does get these accommodations because without them the scores won't be as valid because they have a, you know, learning disability or ADHD or significant test anxiety that would impede on their performance. Okay. That would be the main accommodation is extra time, time and a half or double time. The other one is preferential test taking environment. So some of us get very distracted taking the test in a room full of other people. So that may be that you're, you know, the other accommodation to support that would be, you know, taking it in a quiet setting or with maybe one or two other people.

unknown 30:35

Yeah.

Ruth 30:36

And I've also heard of some for even uh physical disability. So correct if someone's diabetic and they need to be able to stop time um to have a snack or check their blood sugar.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

Exactly. Or or take more frequent breaks throughout, or ones that have, you know, individuals that have like, let's say, you know, dyslexia or significant reading disability where they have the items read to them so that their reading impairment isn't getting in the way with what they know. Okay. So there are there are the these accommodations can range, but but you know, it it's not as simple as, oh, I need an accommodation. There are steps to follow. Yeah. And we're gonna discuss that in a future episode. We certainly will.

Ruth 31:16

Which I'm very excited about. And then the item that we started our show with, okay, test anxiety. That's the other big key.

Kay 31:24

I mean, I I think that that's a big one for a lot of people, the test anxiety and just the anxiety about the process in general. Oh, yeah. And that's a big one to dive into.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

If we could leave our listeners with one takeaway for anxiety, because I think anxiety really just spans far and wide among not just testing, that's probably one of the biggest ones, but just performance in general. And that's what testing really is. You're it's performative, maybe not in the outward way, but you're performing for something that's gonna help make a decision for something that's pretty big, like college admissions. So what's one thing that we can leave our audience with, with our listeners with, with regards to test anxiety? What have you seen, Ruth, in working with kids?

Ruth 32:15

Um testing. The biggest number one thing is just to take it multiple times. Um multiple official exams, because I think that really helps um psychologically just to know that this isn't the only shot that you have at it. And then, oh, here's another difference with the ACT. ACT offers super scoring. Oh, right. Um, exactly. So super scoring is basically if you take the ACT several times, they'll pick out your strongest math score, your strongest English score, strongest readings, and put those all together into a composite to show you in the best possible light. So you even have the opportunity to say, hey, I really aced the math this time. This next sitting, I'm just gonna come in and really, really grind the English, really, really focus on that. So that is useful in a practical way, but also in a psychological way. And then just building up the muscle memory, knowing what's going to happen, knowing what it feels like to sit for the whole thing, knowing that the world isn't going to end really helps you to kind of build up your muscles for it.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Yeah, I've I've read a lot about the superscoring. One question I never understood is when you superscore, you're submitting your superscore. Do the colleges know that these are the superscore? And this student probably took it four or five times and cherry, it's like cherry picking data, which isn't bad, which is which isn't bad because we all have, you know, things that we're good at at different times and and not. So do the schools know that? Do colleges know that you are submitting a superscore, or does it just come packaged because you told it to?

Ruth 33:45

It will come packaged. Um, I would check with the schools that you're applying to, because as we discussed earlier, some of them will want to see every and a lot of the um more elite schools will do this. They'll want to see every single time you've taken it because especially, you know, we're talking about inequality, someone who can work with the tutor for a period of years and take, you know, maybe five, six, seven, eight official exams is a different assessment than someone who's sitting for it once and coming out with the same. So depending on the school, they might want to see it. If they don't need to see the multiple um administrations, then no. And they do take a super score because not every school, well, you should check on it, then no, they'll see that as your score that comes through.

Kay 34:22

But you have to tell it which exam dates you want to submit. So you may have taken it three or four times, but maybe between test one and test three is your superscore. Exactly. So you may only need to submit two, but you need to check that out. The other piece on the anxiety that I tell all my clients and my kiddos to do is to do superposes beforehand. And so to do the Amy Cuddy, the superposition. You totally brought me around on this. And and so by standing there either like Superman or Rocky Balboa for two minutes and changing your physiology, you can change your mindset. And so you can get a spike in testosterone of roughly 20% and a decrease in cortisol of roughly 25% and an overall performance enhancement of 30% per a Harvard study and the work that Amy Cuddy and others have done. And so I am a huge proponent of power posing before these anxious moments.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

But okay. And then prep, you know, just prep if you can. Prep if you can, right? As much to to kind of, you know, eliminate or not eliminate, but decrease that that that anxiety. And I I do really like the, you know, take it multiple times. Oh. You know, so you're not putting all of your pressure on that one. It's not, you know, you get one shot, you know, like I'm watching the Olympics, right? And, you know, these days, and it's like they've got one shot to prove it. Exactly. You know, and if you flip or you fall, that is it. That is not what's happening with these tests. You can take it multiple times. Exactly. Which is, which is some, there's some relief with that. If you're doing snowboarding, some of them you get three tries. Yeah, but if everyone counts equally, though, right?

Kay 36:00

No, I think they just take your top score. Oh, good to know.

SPEAKER_01 36:03

So I think they superscore it. They superscore it. We love it. Love it. Okay. One last question that I have. If I so if you have a student who really wants to go into engineering, which one should they take?

Ruth 36:18

I would say depends on the school. If there's something that the department is saying about it, we want to see this or we want to see a science section. The secret about the ACT science section is it's more about pattern recognition than about actual science. Um and part of the standardization is them not wanting to require specific outside knowledge. So it depends on the school. Exactly. I would check in, especially if you're really focused on getting into a specific department, see if they have any advice or if there are any um optional things they want. They also might want specific um AP exams, for example, and we can talk about that another time.

unknown 36:54

All right.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

All right. Well, thank you. This was great information, Ruth. And there will be a handout with all of this information on our website versus ACT.

Ruth 37:06

You can jump into it per usual.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

Great. Until next time, thanks for joining Net Collective.

Kay 37:14

If today's conversation resonated with you, please share this episode with anyone who may need it, and follow us at netcollective.org or wherever you get your podcast so you won't miss what's next. We are Net Collective. Navigating everything together, one conversation at a time. Thanks for listening.