Test prep is beneficial to college-bound students because, at its essence, the SAT and the ACT are often more about test-taking skills than about any other academic skills. Educators and college admission officers acknowledge that the SAT and the ACT unfairly benefit economically-advantaged students specifically because those students have access to better, experienced test prep, which usually yields an increase in their scores. Most students have no idea how to hone their test-taking skills independently.
In sports, the path to success is to determine how best to accomplish the challenge ahead. For example, when a golfer faces a tournament weekend, he studies hole placement; gauges the weather, wind, and course conditions; and sharpens skills. He also consults his coach and his caddie! Why would we think test preparation is any different? Students must develop a plan of attack: to become familiar with testing patterns, to develop strategies for success, to understand the testing conditions, and to gain confidence and an attitude of optimism.
The SAT and the ACT are vital admission checkpoints. Despite the growing list of colleges that self-identify as test optional or test flexible, students can improve their profile significantly by securing competitive standardized testing scores.
Local freezing rain deferred this week’s in-school ACT until March for public-school juniors. Many of these students will now take the SAT on March 9, for which they had registered previously, and turn around to take the in-school ACT just four days later, far from ideal timing. The pacing of these two tests varies drastically. Much like moving from a racing car to a clunky old jalopy, these students will be velocitized by the ACT and find it tricky to slow their pace and to calibrate their attention to the wordier, often more tedious SAT problems. This transition requires scrutiny and planning.
Don’t assume students will be “just fine” on test day and allow them to go into these significant tests “cold.” Don’t assume that handing them a test prep book or directing them to practice on-line will fulfill their needs. Seek out individualized test prep that will help your children optimize their performance.