Many parents are very excited that universities announced that they do not require incoming first-year students to take the ACT or SAT. At first, this was a good idea and a relief to parents and students. However, some problems may arise from not taking one of the two tests. Instead of the traditional ACT/SAT, the schools give placement tests, parents may have to pay for classes that do not count towards their child’s degree, and the students miss out on much-needed scholarships.
Although the schools no longer require the ACT/SAT, they still require a placement test. Placement testing is not new, but in the past, if a student scored high enough on the ACT/SAT, they were exempt from taking a placement test. The placement test and ACT/SAT help schools place students in the correct math and English level. Testing students ensures they are ready for math and not taking classes that are too advanced.
The university wants your child to succeed and will place them in remedial classes until they can handle the upper-level coursework. The remedial class sounds like an excellent idea for some struggling students. Still, these classes cost the parent money to enroll, yet they do not count toward their child’s degree. I know of one parent whose son is taking coursework equivalent to a 6th-grade level. The students can take the math classes as self-paced or in a classroom setting. Either way will take time and motivation to succeed. Many students are in these classes not because they don’t comprehend Algebra and above but because they do not perform well when testing.
Another reason to take the ACT/SAT is that many academic scholarships are based on the ACT/SAT scores. One of my favorite bloggers “Prep Scholar” recently wrote about the scholarships given to students from universities based on their ACT/SAT scores alone. With the rising cost of college, parents cannot afford to leave this money on the table.
You have spent many hours teaching your child, and now they are in high school. You can start exploring colleges and what each one requires. If your child plans to attend a university, you must prepare them for the ACT/SAT. Preparing students for testing may seem daunting at first, but there are many books and materials for free to help prepare your child for the test. Taking prep classes or hiring a private tutor for the ACT/SAT will also give your child their best chance of succeeding.
Your child should take the ACT at least three times to get the best score because the ACT has decided to super-score the test, so colleges only see the highest score for each subject. If your child scores a 25 on English the first time and a 29 on English the second time but takes it a third time and scores a 27, then the college will only see the 29. Super-scoring allows students to focus on one subject at a time. If they score low in one area, they can focus solely on that subject and not worry about preparing for the other parts of the test.
Link to the article from Prep Scholar.
https://blog.prepscholar.com/guaranteed-scholarships-based-on-sat-act-scores
For more information on the ACT/SAT test and to help prepare your student, visit: https://amactprep.wordpress.com