Upcoming Changes to College Entrance Tests
This is helpful information for all of our parents and students, but will apply primarily to students in the class of 2017 and beyond. So, for our current sophomores and younger, we see some upcoming changes in the college entrance tests.
ACT
The actual ACT test is remaining the same. However, ACT has discontinued the PLAN and rolled out the multi-grade Aspire assessment system that may begin next year. We will no longer administer the Explore test to 8th grade students or the PLAN test to our 10th grade students. The registration process, the scoring and the ACT test are all remaining the same.
SAT
SAT is changing to a new format in 2016. The last old SAT will be given in January 2016 while the new SAT will begin March 2016.
Current Juniors (Class of 2016)
We recommend that you begin taking the SAT and ACT in the 11th grade or as soon as you complete Algebra 2. Then you may also continue to take the current SAT and ACT, as needed, the first semester of your senior year. You will not need to worry about the new SAT unless you are stilling working towards a particular score late in the senior year.
Current Sophomores (Class of 2017)
Current sophomores will be affected by this change more than other grade levels. Our current sophomores are registered to take the current PSAT as a practice test on Wednesday, October 15, 2014. We strongly advise taking the current SAT as a junior or as soon as you complete Algebra 2. Also, sophomores can plan to take the ACT as a junior. This will provide a strong comparison between the two tests. Many of our sophomores may never need to take the new, revised SAT. However, you will have the choice to try the new SAT. The changes may allow you the opportunity to improve your scores if needed.
Current Sophomores PSAT / National Merit information
For National Merit Scholarship possibilities, current sophomores will have to take the revised PSAT as a junior in October of 2016. We will let you know when the new practice tests are available. Read below for a sneak peak at the redesign.
Current Freshmen (Class of 2018)
Enjoy your 9th grade year that is relatively free of standardized testing. You will take the NEW PSAT, which should correlate to the NEW SAT, in October of your 10th grade year. You will have the opportunity to take the new PSAT in October of your 11th grade year to qualify for National Merit. We are fortunate we live in a state and district willing to provide the funds for this test. We will keep you up-to-date with the changes.
For all Families
The SAT has changed in the past (10 years ago) from a 1600 scale to a 2400 scale. Students and colleges handled the adjustment well and this will be another time of transition. The best advice for test prep still remains true.
1. Read a variety of materials often.
2. Enroll in challenging coursework that requires extensive reading.
3. Practice before you take the test to understand the types of questions.
4. Get a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast.
5. Take advantage of test prep books in the Counseling Center and free online test prep
A Few Elements of the Redesigned SAT
· “Critical Reading” section will become “Reading and Writing”.
· There will be two sections – “Reading and Writing” and “Math”
· Score returns to a scale of 200 – 800 for RW and M (perfect score is 1600)
· There will be an optional essay with a completely separate score
· No penalty for guessing!
· There will be questions based on science and important historical documents in the RW section. Students will have to interpret graphs and answer document based questions.
· College board predicts that the time will stay the same – about 4 hours
For more detailed information regarding the revised SAT, visit:
https://www.collegeboard.org/delivering-opportunity/sat/redesign
Clover High SchoolCHS Counseling CenterOctober 2014