"PLAN" test??? Anybody?

<p>Anyone familiar with this test. It is given in sophomore year as a precursor to the ACT. My "D" scored a 24. So where the hell am I with this "D" of mine. Is this a respectable score? Anyway to extrapolate this to PSAT or SAT prediction... possible merit aid or what have you. Guidance is of little help.</p>

<p>My son took it as a soph, so I pulled out his old papers from it. There was a box that predicted ACT scores based on the PLAN test (he got a 25), and he exceeded the prediction. He also did quite well on SATs. I'd say you have a pretty smart daughter who also tests well! Tell her to keep up the good work, anything could happen.</p>

<p>My D got a 27 on the PLAN last year and 209 on PSAT this year. I have a <em>feeling</em> that if she had prepped for the PSAT her score would have been a few points higher, and she could have made the cut-off for semi-finalist. I suggested it, but she is stubborn.</p>

<p>Just trying to get started with the college visits. I know the "PLAN" predicts an ACT score, but the range is ridiculously broad 25-30 in my "D"'s case. Also in the Northeast I understand colleges are more interested in SAT and SATII's. I figured if I could get some comparisons, PLAN scores vs. SAT scores (my "D" scored 24 on the PLAN) I could get some idea as to where "D" fits into the college spectrum prior to PSAT, ACT and SAT. In short what does a kid who scores 24 on the PLAN test achieve on the SAT... roughly. I don't want to waste time or get her hopes up by visiting colleges she may not have a prayer of attending, nor did I want her to take the PSAT or SAT or the ACT in her sophomore year.</p>

<p>I do not know about estimates based on the PLAN test but there are a bunch of strings showing estimates to convert ACT scores to SAT scores ... and I'd think using the PLAN score would yield a pretty good estimate.</p>

<p>I don't have an exact comparison for you, but my 12 year old took the EXPLORE last year and scored a 21. I was told at the time that that compared to a 20-25 on the ACT. She just took the ACT in Feb. and scored a 24, so it looks like the advice was pretty accurate. I would guess that if your child scored a 24 as a sophomore, with some prep, I would bet around 28-30 by end of junior year.</p>

<p>Most colleges now (including those in the Northeast) will take either the SATs or ACT. Most will allow the ACT to substitute for both SAT I and SAT II's. Some require the SAT II's anyway (like Haverford). But there doesn't seem to be a prejudice against the ACT anymore.</p>

<p>Dunno anything about the Plan, but a 24 ACT converts to a 1110 SAT (old ver) on the commonly used concordance table.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/sat/cbsenior/html/stat00f.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/sat/cbsenior/html/stat00f.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Note: While most kids obtain a comparable score on either test, certain kids just do better on one test or the other (ACT or SAT), so suggest taking the psat as well, if your school offers it.</p>

<p>One of the confusing things about PLAN is that it is on a different scale than the ACT. PLAN's highest score is a 32 versus a 36 for the ACT. So there's no easy correlation as there is in the PSAT-SAT scoring.</p>

<p>Having looked closely at ACT scores for many years, I would add 5-7 points to your child's PLAN score and estimate that to be her senior year ACT score. You can convert it to SATs using the college board link above. It's a good, not great, ACT score. If you are looking for merit money, you'll need to look at schools where that score would put her in the top 25% of applicants.</p>

<p>Our sons' private school administers the PLAN test to freshmen without much "prep". I think the school uses the scores from freshmen to decide what the "weak" areas are. I think other schools administer the test to sophomores, right?</p>

<p>My daughter took the Plan and ACT test in the reverse order than usual. Last Spring, as a 9th grader, she got a 28 on the ACT. In the Fall of 10th grade she took the plan and got a 27, this gave a prediction of 28-32 on the ACT. Still as a 10th grader, she took the PSAT and got a 196. I don't know if that can give you any idea compared to your own daughter's score, but my daughter did score in the lowest end of the predictor. It was, though, 2 years before she would normally be taking the ACT, so I am hoping junior year she will be at the upper end of the predicted score.</p>

<p>As a freshman, I took the PLAN and scored a 27. A few moths later, I took the ACT and made a 24. I retook it (ACT) as a junior and made a 28. The PLAN, for me, was a great test to know what the ACT was like. I recommend taking standardized tests often. Scrores will rise every time- Don't quit until they start to plateau. Congrats to your daughter- a 24 is excellent.</p>