Intro to College Admissions Testing Or, “Why do we have to take these stupid tests and why are there two of them anyway?

First, some history… (courtesy of Erik Jacobsen at erikthered.com) Late 1800’s: Individual admission tests (Northeastern U.S.) or “admission by certificate” (Midwest) 1899: 12 colleges in the Northeast form the College Board to bring order to a chaotic admissions system 1901: 1st “college boards” given to a cohort of <1000 students 1917-1919: Multiple-choice intelligence tests developed for Army, Columbia, and a few other institutions

First, some history… (courtesy of Erik Jacobsen at erikthered.com) 1925: About 20,000 students take the College Board exam (~10% of college students) 1926: College Board administers 1st Scholastic Aptitude Test to 8000 students as supplement to the current exam (aptitude vs. mastery) 1927-1959: SAT gains popularity and makes continual adjustments, including wrong answer penalty (1954) and allowing students to see their own scores (1958)

First, some history… (courtesy of Erik Jacobsen at erikthered.com) 1937: SAT Subject Tests are introduced, and are called “Achievement Tests” until 1994 1959: American College Testing (ACT) Program is founded to address regional differences in college admissions and to focus on “achievement” instead of “aptitude”; based on the Iowa Tests 1968: Number of students taking SAT = Number of students taking ACT ( ~900,000) 1968-1994: Continued changes and controversies; more schools accepting either test 2011 data courtesy of ACT.org

First, some history… (courtesy of Erik Jacobsen at erikthered.com) 1995: The Great Recentering 2005: Writing Multiple Choice and Essay added to SAT; Optional Writing Test added to ACT 2007: Every college accepts ACT scores 2010: Number taking ACT > Number taking SAT 2013: College Board decides to change the SAT format again for March 2016

Why does any of that history stuff matter? In order to get optimal results, it helps to remember that these tests are: NOT a measure of intelligence or achievement NOT a good predictor of your future success SOMETIMES used by employers OFTEN subject to criticism and change REALLY a way for colleges to sort thousands of applicants

Old (pre-March 2016) SAT Overview

New (post-March 2016) SAT Overview

New vs. Old SAT Overview

ACT Overview

New SAT/Old SAT/ACT Comparison

SAT/ACT Comparison

SAT/ACT Concordance

AND NOW… IT’S TIME TO PLAY… FACT OR CRAP SAT/ACT VERSION

THE ACT IS EASIER THAN THE SAT. FACT OR CRAP

SOME SCHOOLS ONLY ACCEPT THE SAT. FACT OR CRAP

THE ACT ACTUALLY TESTS CONTENT YOU LEARN IN SCHOOL, UNLIKE THE SAT FACT OR CRAP

MOST COLLEGES SUPERSCORE BOTH TESTS ? MOST COLLEGES SUPERSCORE BOTH TESTS FACT OR CRAP

COLLEGES DON’T EVEN LOOK AT THE WRITING SCORE FACT OR CRAP

SOME COLLEGES MAKE YOU TAKE SAT SUBJECT TESTS FACT OR CRAP

YOU CAN’T TAKE THESE TESTS MORE THAN TWICE FACT OR CRAP

1200 (SAT) / 26 (ACT) IS A GOOD SCORE Well, it’s Complicated…

Do a little informal research: TONIGHT’S HOMEWORK: Do a little informal research: Look up the required or average entering scores of the colleges you’re applying to Based on those data, determine your target score