@LvMyKids2, the ACT offers a February test date (except for those in NY) so that’s what I meant by “early Spring.” I guess that’s technically still winter?
I suppose the ACT prep can help with the PSAT prep, but as noted, there are some significant differences between them, particularly as it relates to time issues. For my kids, having them take the SAT in the fall of junior year and then the ACT in February worked well.
reading this thread and the ACT-accused-of-cheating thread with interest.
My thoughts: I"m guessing its rare to be accused of cheating. The ACT corp wants its $$ from kids taking tests and lets kids take the tests up to like 12 times or something. I feel for those kids who are caught in their strange algorithms, but i wouldn’t let it deter my kids from taking it multiple times.
our family has our kiddos take it in 9th grade. Why WE do this?? We are happy with kiddos going to state flagship; and we know now pretty clearly what it takes to get a full tuition scholarship to this U. We see 9th as a baseline. For our S20, we know exactly what he needs to work on in the next few years and we’ve identified a tutor for a certain area that was quite a bit lower than the other 3. We are seeing this as a 3-yr process.
our college choices are limited because of finances so we arent looking at (nor would our kids necessarily make) top colleges, and we dont have the worries about having to send all of the scores. There are lots of views on taking the ACT as a freshman; for us it was helpful and good.
@bgbg4us , does your school offer the PreACT? That’s the main purpose of it. My son took that and it was useful because it served its intended purpose.
Lindagaf; no they do not offer the PreACT anymore. Not sure why; they did several years ago but stopped before my S15 was a freshman. Certainly a good idea!
My D wanted to take a practice SAT and we found a group that gave the exam under testing conditions. We paid a fee and they sent us results but it was not an official exam.
@happy1 I think that is the most ideal situation. My kids took real tests at home from the practice books and sat and took them with a timer, and all at once. This is how they studied and with a tutor on specific areas. I am not an advocate of taking real tests until you are ready to sign up and take the real test!