The Argument Against Taking/Retaking SAT

Parents Forum
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<p>A recent Parents Forum discussion asked for opinions on retaking the SAT/ACT. For everyone's information, the NYT's "The choice" blog has an interesting take on the issue:</p>

<p>An</a> Argument Against Taking (and Retaking) the SAT and ACT - NYTimes.com</p>

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<p>Thank you for the link. I’m thinking the title is misleading - they seem to say that retaking at least once, especially with a significant time lag (spring to fall) is a good idea. This article was, importantly, more about being OK with preferring one test to the other, and that schools are fine with either. The time and energy (and money) spent in chasing high scores on both tests are definitely better spent on other activities.</p>

<p>My D2 took 2 ACTs in quick succession this spring, and while she has good enough scores for where she wants to go, she’d like to try it again this fall. I think she’ll be pleasantly surprised, because she’s definitely matured in her concentration and all-around thinking, and it should show. She’ll do some prep, but I think time will help her as much as anything. D1 also took a “one more try” ACT in the fall of her senior year, after April and June tests. I think both of them have had that feeling that they could come at the test more maturely as seniors and want one more shot. In D2’s case, she got a section score that really pleased her, and D2 knows another point or two could always help.</p>

<p>My kids like ACT (both girls); they took PSAT and SAT2s and did better all around on ACT. Maybe the midwest HS’s still do teach to the ACT. I couldn’t say. But I haven’t even suggested that they try the SAT, to avoid the kind of rat race the article implies. Focusing on improving their ACT over a couple of sittings has been a very reasonable plan for my kids.</p>

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<p>yes, the title of this thread is definitely misleading.</p>

<p>The question in the article was whether the SAT was favored over the ACT and if so, should the student therefore retake the SAT to raise that score? The answer was ‘no, the SAT is not favored over the ACT’, but definitely retake the ACT, (her stronger test) to see if she can raise it even more.</p>

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<p>Hard to dispute THAT fact!</p>

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<p>It would be hard to find THAT breakdown by gender, especially since girls do NOT do better on the SAT than boys.</p>

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<p>xiggi:</p>

<p>Funny, I read an article/column last year from a NE counselor who said that (his anecdotes showed) that girls tend to do better on the ACT, so he counsels all of his female clients to take that test if their SAT is not commensurate with gpa.</p>

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<p>Every child is different. while i do not agree with everything the private counselor suggests, I do think it is important to guard against a child investing too much time in maxing our both tests. If it is clear which test your child is better in - preparing well and taking the test more than once makes sense. Taking each test over and over until the clock runs out doesn’t sound like such a great way to spend junior and senior year.</p>

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<p>Mr. BB, that makes sense. As always, when it comes to the preparation of the college admission process, everything is an individual case. As a result, there are plenty of anecdotes that contradict the common results. You know what they say about data not being the plural of anecdotes.</p>

<p>Anyway, I thought you might enjoy reading the gender statistics for the ACT 2010. As usual, I am also including the source.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.act.org/news/data/10/pdf/profile/National2010.pdf?utm_campaign=cccr10&utm_source=profilereports&utm_medium=web[/url]”>http://www.act.org/news/data/10/pdf/profile/National2010.pdf?utm_campaign=cccr10&utm_source=profilereports&utm_medium=web&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Average ACT Scores by Gender</p>

<p>Composite
Males 21.2
Females 20.9</p>

<p>English Mathematics Reading Science
Males 20.1 21.6 21.1 21.4
Females 20.8 20.5 21.4 20.5</p>

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<p>My S took the SAT once and scored high enough to be happy with his score (no prep). He happens to be an excellent reader and test taker. D is the opposite. Didn’t do so well on the PSAT and took the ACT last spring as a soph. She scored a 28 without prep. There is more talk about the SAT in this area as opposed to the ACT. I wonder if all the hype regarding the SAT is detrimental to those who, like my D, aren’t great test takers. She took the ACT on a whim and wasn’t as stressed out about it.</p>

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<p>FWIW Our GCs recommend that all of the kids take both tests to see which format is most suited to the student’s testing style…and to stick with the one thats the best match.
Then only the best match test scores are submitted.</p>

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<p>Even better, take a free practice test (booklets handed out by schools every year) under identical practice conditions and see which one is better for you. Then sign up for and improve on your score for that test. Use score choice and send only the best scores out for the world to see. Also, start early enough in junior year (if possible) to minimize testing stress while writing applications senior year.</p>

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<p>Also keep in mind that for at least some colleges you can’t use subscores from different tests to come up with your highest score. In other words, no mixing of the reading from one test date and the math from another date. You have to choose one test date’s scores as a package deal.</p>

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<p>To consider:

  1. In the absence of perfect scores on a first-time ACT and SAT, some liberal arts colleges with competitive admissions expect retakes as an indication of attitude (“if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again”).
  2. Students who struggle with test anxiety and build these tests up to be larger than life (“I will ruin my life if I don’t do well”) may find that planning to take each test twice lowers the stakes and helps them to relax on the first round. After that, they can decide whether to retest. My daughter found it helpful to consider the first test as “practice.” Actual practice tests don’t have the same effect because they don’t reproduce the stress of an actual testing room.<br>
  3. Schools sometimes will publish whether they take the top sub-section scores across all test takes. My daughter’s top choice college not only draws all top sub-section scores to come up with a final score but also has a staff person do that so that the admissions committee doesn’t even see the full range of scores over multiple takes unless they decide to dig deep into the file.
  4. Rather than play statistical profile games with the ACT/SAT, I think taking both is a good idea. They are very different kinds of tests.</p>