Calvary Christian High School Test Type Presentation 1 Presenter: Kofi Bempah Phone: Review Website: PrincetonReview.com

Introduction 2 Kofi Bempah Territory Manager for West and Central Florida

Agenda Testing Timeline ACT ASPIRE PSAT SAT ACT SAT v. ACT How The Princeton Review Can Help 3

Testing Timeline 4

5

What is the ACT Aspire? No more PLAN A standards-based system of assessments to monitor progress toward college and career readiness from grade 3 through early high school, connecting each grade level to the next

Why Take the ACT Aspire To get an idea of where the students are on the spectrum of learning

When to Take the ACT Aspire From grade 3 through early high school

What is the PSAT/NMSQT? PSAT Quick Facts Frequency 2 test dates in October Duration 2 hours 10 minutes Sections math, critical reading, writing Cost $14 Max. Score 80 in each section; 240 overall Avg. Score 141 for 11 th graders Stands for Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test

So, why do we take it? It determines your eligibility for a National Merit Scholarship Approximately 50,000 juniors with the highest PSAT Score (roughly the top 3% of junior testers) are notified that they qualify for NMSP recognition Practice test for the SAT »You’ll get an idea of how standardized tests work »See how you perform in a high-pressure testing situation »You get SCORES to give you a starting point Why Take the PSAT

To qualify for a National Merit Scholarship award the test must be taken in a student’s junior year of high school. When to Take the PSAT

SAT Quick Facts 12 SAT quick facts Frequency 7 times/year Duration 3 hours, 45 minutes Sections 3 Sections Math, Critical Reading, Writing Cost $50 Max. Score 800 per section Avg. Score Math 516 Reading 501 Writing 492

So, why do we take it? Colleges use it as an admissions qualifier Schools Consider: SAT/ACT High school GPA Academic transcript Letters of recommendation Interviews Personal essays Why Take the SAT

Most students take the SAT for the first time during the spring of their junior year and a second time during the fall of their senior year. When to Take the SAT

What’s on the SAT? 15

Why Students Struggle with the SAT

What do SAT Scores Really Measure? How well you take the SAT SAT

Don’t take your scores personally. SAT scores are NOT a measure of your intelligence. Anybody, with the proper coaching, can learn how to increase their scores. SAT

SAT Scoring What happens when you answer? If you get it right… You get a point! If you leave it blank… You gain/lose nothing! If you get it wrong… You lose ¼ of a point!

Your Scores Low Scores Lowest SAT = 600 Medium Scores Middle SAT = 1500 High Scores Highest SAT = 2400

Where will your scores take you? SchoolSAT Score University of Central Florida University of Miami1905 – 2115 University of South Florida Florida State University Florida International University University of Florida

The SAT® is Changing—and We're On It 22 HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. The changes will impact students in the class of If you’re in the class of 2015 or 2016, you won’t be affected.

Affects Class of 2017 and beyond. Class of 2015 and 2016 will take current SAT. Class of 2017 may have option to take both tests. Revised PSAT will take place in October 2015 before the redesigned SAT rolls out in Spring Whether it's new or old, a test is still a test. All standardized tests are coachable and it all starts with creating a plan to set yourself up for success. 23

ACT Quick Facts 24 ACT quick facts Frequency 6 times/year Duration 3 hours, 3½ hours including essay Sections 5 Sections English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing Cost $34 - $49.50 Max. Score 36 Avg. Score 21

So, why do we take it? Colleges use it as an admissions qualifier Schools Consider: SAT/ACT High school GPA Academic transcript Letters of recommendation Interviews Personal essays Why Take the ACT

Most students take the ACT for the first time during the spring of their junior year and a second time during the fall of their senior year. When to Take the ACT

What’s on the ACT? 27 Essay – technically optional, but YOU SHOULD DO THE ESSAY!

Your Scores What happens when you answer…on the ACT? If you get it right… You get a point! If you leave it blank… You gain/lose nothing! If you get it wrong… You still gain/lose nothing!

Your Scores Low Scores Lowest ACT = 1 Medium Scores Middle ACT = 21 High Scores Highest ACT = 36

Where will your scores take you? SchoolACT Score University of Central Florida University of Miami29-32 University of South Florida Florida State University26-30 Florida International University23-26 University of Florida28-32

What’s a good score? 31 A good score for you is the score that helps you get into (and pay for) the school you want to attend.

SAT v. ACT 32 All colleges accept either test These are tests of skill and with practice any student can improve his/her scores These tests are not like the tests students are used to taking in school

SAT v. ACT v. High School Tests 33 Tests are LONG! Too many questions Trap answers

SAT v. ACT 34

Signs you might prefer the SAT You’re a quick thinker who loves the challenge of puzzles and logic games You can rapidly define a plethora of onerous vocabulary words You prefer to write about WWII and The Great Gatsby than about school uniforms You have a shorter attention span and prefer to complete the exam in small, more ‘bite-sized’ pieces. You rocked the PSAT. Stick with what’s working. SAT vs. ACT

Signs you might prefer the ACT You pay close attention in math class You love the challenge of beating the clock You’re good at reading graphs and tables You’re a strong reader You have a strong GPA, but did not do all that well on the PSAT SAT vs. ACT

Testing Dates 37

How many times? 38 Prepare to take SAT or ACT once, plan to take at least twice, and do not take either test more than 3 times. If you take the SAT multiple times, then you can send all of your scores and many colleges will take your best score from each subject. It’s called SuperScore!

Now What? How will you prep? On your own?In a class or with a tutor? 39

Now What? 40 We prep for all the tests. We teach content and strategies. Intensive instructor training. Various options for prep.

Getting In SAT: If you’re going to be a number… be a big one! ACT: 36 The End Visit PrincetonReview.com