ACT and SAT Testing

Copyright by Deb Erbach Burger.
Used with permission

The prime time for ACT or SAT testing is easy to overlook. Don't let it happen to you!

Most college applications are made in the spring of 11th grade. With that in mind, it’s best to start the preparation and SAT testing process fairly early.

Some families wait until the senior year, and then find themselves faced with a real crush for time. There may only be one or two available testing sessions at nearby centers, in time to meet application deadlines set by the colleges. Preparation classes may or may not be offered. There may not be time for remedial tutoring between testing sessions to address an academic weakness.

The best and most effective schedule for testing is one that begins at the start of 10th grade.

The parent registers the student for the PSAT test in October of 10th grade. The experience of taking that test, knowing it’s part of the process of getting into college, is often enough to “wake up” students who have had a lackadaisical attitude toward schoolwork. Suddenly there’s an awareness that this is the real thing, the home stretch. Grades and test scores matter now. Parents may have been saying these things for a year or more, but it frequently takes an experience as specific as the first College Board exam, to catch the attention of a teenager.

Also, this is a chance to preview the format and process of the test, and to see scores reported in the same format as will be used for later testing. The report form is somewhat different from that of other achievement tests the student has taken throughout school.

In the spring of 10th grade it’s a good time to take a preparation course for either ACT or SAT testing, and to sign up for the first actual test.

By May or June, the student will have completed a prep course of one sort or another, and have taken the practice test (PSAT) in the fall. This first sitting of the “real” exam can be very informative, as curriculum decisions are made for the final two years of high school. The need, or lack of need for remedial study in Math, Vocabulary, Critical Reading, or writing skills will be apparent. Either summer study, before next fall’s testing, or a plan for classes in 11th grade can address these needs.

Since college visits and correspondence with interesting universities should also be part of 10th and 11th grades, the testing helps the student to stay focused on the requirements that must be met for admission to the colleges he or she intends to apply to.

The fall semester of 11th grade offers a unique testing opportunity. PSAT scores from autumn 11th graders are also automatically entered in the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying (NMSQ)competition.

This is the only way and only time to enter that competition. Not only are there significant scholarships offered by this federal program (ranging up to total “free ride”), but also many colleges use the NMSQ score as a screening tool for their own institution’s scholarships.

This is possibly the most financially important test the student will take, and is often overlooked. It doesn’t matter that it’s a “practice” test and your student has already taken the “real” test; it’s important to take the PSAT test at this time, and it is again functioning as valuable practice for the final round of SAT or ACT testing in the spring of 11th grade.

Why is this the final round? Because college applications will be made with the scores obtained by this time.

It’s ideal for a student to enter 12th grade with a provisional acceptance at college already “under the belt,” for several reasons.

Scholarships at many colleges must be applied for before Christmas of the year BEFORE the year in which they will be awarded.

Parents must fill out federal financial aid applications by Feb. 15 of the year BEFORE the student needs the aide. It’s very helpful to have plenty of time for these tasks, already knowing which college is the destination.

April, May and June of 11th grade are the time for the second (and hopefully final) round of actual College Board exams. This is the session in which it’s important to have in mind a list of colleges who will receive the score report. However, don’t worry if your student doesn’t fill out that portion of the registration; it’s very easy for a college to access the scores when they receive a completed application from your student, whether the scores were automatically reported to them or not.

If the student’s score on the spring exam is realistically the best this student can do, then testing is completed. However, if there is a problem, such as not feeling well on the day of the test (I know of a student who took the test, not realizing she was incubating chicken pox, and broke out a day or two later… but even a headache or allergies can have negative effect on scores!) or a need for intensive summer tutoring in one area before a retake, don’t lose heart. There is the summer for last minute preparation, and then there are always a few testing dates in September of 12th grade, which a student can use to advantage, if necessary, and ahead of application deadlines.

The best time to take the advanced, subject-specific SAT II tests is immediately after completing the highest level of high school classes to be taken in that area.

To recap:

Fall of 10th grade—PSAT, possibly followed by a test prep course

Spring of 10th grade—SAT or ACT, possibly followed by a test prep course

Fall of 11th grade—PSAT (NMSQT)

Spring of 11th grade—SAT or ACT, possibly SAT II

Fall or 12th grade—SAT or ACT if necessary, possibly SAT II

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