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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Is Your Student Taking the SAT/ACT Soon?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Is Your Student Taking the SAT/ACT Soon?:

Is Your Student Taking the SAT/ACT Soon?

This Saturday, Jan. 23rd, will be the last time the old version of the SAT will be given. The newly redesigned SAT will be given for the first time in March.  That one will be the one now aligned to Common Core standards.  Test prep companies say yes - it's creating a lot of anxiety (which may help the folks that give the ACT.)
Jay Bacrania, CEO of the test prep company Signet Education, LLC, said he's hearing from a lot of parents and students who are worried about the new version of the SAT. "There's been a lot of hype and publicity," he said. And while he doesn't anticipate that students will score much differently on the new version of the SAT than the old, he expects that anxiety will spur more students to look at the ACT. "I think ACT is going to see a big bump in their numbers this year," Bacrania said. Kaplan Test Prep told Morning Education that in a survey of high school guidance counselors, about a third are advising their students to take both the SAT and ACT. About 43 percent of parents also said their child plans to take both exams, said Lee Weiss, Kaplan's VP of pre-collegeprograms.
Just to let you know, the AP, SAT, ACT and Common Application ALL will ask students if they will waive their FERPA rights for the survey about their student data.  For the Common App, they claim that "waiving your right lets colleges know that you will never try to read your recommendations." That, in turn, reassures colleges that your recommenders have provided support that is candid and truthful.  While you are free to respond as you wish, if you choose not to waive your right, some recommenders may decline your request, and some colleges may disregard recommendations submitted on your behalf.
You can't change your mind after you make the selection (what an interesting thing to do on a testing document) and "we urge you to not answer the waiver question until you have consulted with your counselor, another school official or your parent/legal guardian." 
 
They also have a section about the Common App partnering with Scholar Seattle Schools Community Forum: Is Your Student Taking the SAT/ACT Soon?: