As with most things in education, high school students in the last few years have had an abnormal path to standardized testing as related to college.
Students just entering college this fall 2021 had extremely limited access to the ACT and SAT as many test centers and testing opportunities were shut down during the pandemic. In response, many colleges shifted or extended their test-optional or test blind policies and current seniors who are just applying to college are doing so with fewer test scores.
Here are some details from a recent email to a senior parent explaining pertinent testing lingo:
Test-Optional means “we don’t require a score for admittance and mean that. BUT if you have a high enough score that it would add something (think about sprinkles on top of an ice cream sundae) then go ahead and submit it, and if you do, we’ll consider it.” This is generally going to be the case especially for any schools who normally want a score but are being more lenient due to COVID.
Test BLIND schools really mean “don’t send it, we won’t even look at it if you do” (for admittance). This is going to more likely be less selective schools or schools that have had a long-standing value of a more holistic application review.
But both TO and TB schools MAY still use a test score in terms of dolling out merit aid (which comes from the admissions office and not from the financial aid office). So IF it’s high enough–meaning it’s w/ in or higher than the average test scores submitted for students admitted to that school–then I tend to recommend submitting. If the score is on the lower end of average, I do not recommend submitting it (unless it’s required of course and then the choice is to consider whether or not that school makes sense on the list).
Then comes the question, what is the PSAT and should I take that?
Here is yet another response I recently sent to a parent wondering if her junior son should take both:
The PSAT and SAT serve two different and unrelated purposes.
The PSAT is:
1. Practice for the SAT
2. Qualifier for the National Merit Scholarship
but does NOT go to the colleges or have anything to do with admissions.
Whereas the SAT is for the purpose of admissions (if a school wants a score) and sometimes for merit scholarships.
So again, normally, juniors would have already taken the PSAT during the fall of Sophomore year in order to spread things out. This year’s juniors should definitely take a PSAT if given the opportunity even if it means piggybacking on a fall SAT or ACT.
Speaking of… What about SAT vs. ACT?
Well, if a college wants a score, they don’t care which test you take and submit. There are mild differences between the two, so if you definitely want to be sure, you should consider doing a practice for each to see which one you like better, then focusing your prep and any subsequent tests on one or the other. If you just don’t have time, inclination, or if testing just isn’t your strength, then all of this testing can quickly start to feel overwhelming. So my rule of thumb is to consider all of your options, and then create a timeline for yourself that makes sense. For example, if you don’t have time to really concentrate on prep, taking a test over and over is not likely to garner much increase in score.
In general, I do not recommend chasing a particular score in order to satisfy a particular college, but rather taking it seriously, doing your best, then balancing your list according to your existing GPA and test score accordingly.
One important detail to note is that both the ACT and SAT primarily cover math concepts up through Advanced Algebra, so it’s good to plan your timeline to match when instruction in Algebra is fresh.
For students taking Advanced Algebra in their sophomore year, they are on the Early Bird Testing timeline and I recommend taking a practice test early in the summer after sophomore year, doing some low key but consistent test prep through a free self-managed resource like Khan Academy, and registering for a fall “real” test to use as a baseline.
Remember, you don’t have to send that first set of scores anywhere if you are not happy with them or don’t feel like they are representative
In Portland Public School District, juniors then take a spring SAT as a whole group, so that can be test #2.
And do you know about Super Scoring? Many colleges allow you to take the best English and the best Math score from the two different tests and submit those highest sections.
If you are a junior taking Advanced Algebra, then your timeline just shifts and you should plan on taking a practice test around Winter Break, continuing with Algebra instruction, and then taking your first “real” test in the spring of junior year. Then depending on how that goes, you might choose to take one more test in the summer or very early fall of senior year.
Don’t wait to conduct and finish up your research and list development though, and don’t let your testing timeline impact hitting early application deadlines in November.