Among all of the disruptions in normal activity due to the Covid 19 pandemic, there has been continued uncertainty over college entrance exams like the ACT and SAT. Normal schedules and procedures for the tests have been completely upended, and there has been a lot of misinformation about whether or not high school students should still take the tests and whether colleges and universities were still requiring them.
More than half of all 4-year colleges have decided to go “test optional” for Fall 2021 admissions, and some schools – including all California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) schools – will not consider your test scores even if you submit them. However, that means that there are still many schools that do require the tests. Bottom line, check the schools you’re interested in for their latest announcements.
Should you still take the SAT or ACT?
Getting accepted into the college of your choice is still a highly competitive process, and anything that can give you an advantage over your peers is worth pursuing. Since the College Board and the ACT don’t report test scores to any schools unless you choose to submit them, there is no down side to taking the tests. And if you’re able to score well, submitting your scores – even to a “test optional” school – can help.
More reasons to take the test
25 states actually require SAT or ACT scores as part of high school graduation requirements, so even if you’re not planning to attend a college that requires them, you may need to take the test to get your high school diploma.
Up to 60% of scholarships still require an SAT or ACT score to be submitted in order to qualify.
In addition, many colleges will use SAT or ACT test scores to decide on awarding merit scholarships to incoming students, even if the school is a “test optional” school.
Which test to take?
Most colleges and universities will accept test scores from either test and don’t have a preference for one or the other. Students are increasingly interested in taking both tests in order to provide more information with their applications that could give them an edge over other applicants.
Preparing to take the ACT
The ACT standardized college entrance exam covers English, Math, Reading, and Science. It also offers an optional Writing test, although some colleges require you to take the Writing test even though it’s “optional”. Most students take the ACT in the spring of their junior year or fall of their senior year in high school. It’s possible to re-take the test (up to 12 times) in order to improve your score, and submit your highest score to the school(s) you’re interested in attending.
The highest score possible is 36, and the average score is 21.
The test takes 2 hours and 55 minutes, or 3 hours and 35 minutes with the Writing test.
The SAT standardized college entrance exam measures student skills in Reading, Math, and Writing. There is also an optional essay. Like the ACT test, most students take the SAT in the spring of 11th grade or the fall of 12th grade. There’s no limit to how many times you can take the SAT.
The highest possible score for the SAT is 1600 and schools each have their own expectations for applicants. Highly selective schools look for scores in the 1400-1500+ range. To find out which score to try for, it’s a good idea to check the school(s) you’re interested in and see what the average test scores were for the last group of students who were admitted.
The test takes 3 hours, or 3 hours and 50 minutes with the optional Essay, however the College Board has announced they will be discontinuing the optional SAT essay portion of the test, so by the time you get ready to take your SAT, the essay option may no longer be available.
One-on-one tutors to help you prep for the ACT or SAT
TutorUp offers ACT and SAT test prep tutoring to help you take practice tests and build your confidence in order to prepare you for taking either (or both) of these college entrance exams. Work with an actual certified, experienced, background-checked classroom teacher in order to increase your chances of scoring highly on these tests.
Summer is the perfect time to take a little time to focus on ACT test prep and SAT test prep. No distractions, teacher support, one-on-one.
Up-to-date information about the ACT test and Test Centers can be found here:
Homeschooling is a frightening prospect for some working parents. Getting your day organized and kids meals planned means you can survive – and thrive!
Homeschooling takes adjustment, preparation, and dedication. It can be daunting, but we have your back! This article gives some top tips to survive and even enjoy the homeschool experience.
Be clear on your expectations
First things first – do not put too much pressure on yourself. Nobody is expecting you to pull out a whiteboard and be a full-time teacher. The idea of homeschooling is to provide the best environment for your child to continue learning during this period.
The best plan for this is to build a realistic schedule that works for you and your child. Stick to it as best you can each day, but do not stress when it goes awry. Plan homeschool kids meal breaks and exercise into the day, too, so all bases are covered.
Test what works
You may find that some days your schedule simply does not work. There may be an urgent requirement from your job that you simply have to attend to. Have some backup plans ready for these periods. Your kids can enjoy some dancing or kids’ yoga classes on YouTube while you work.
Not everything has to be books and study. You can also do some practical work. Try baking, building a new Lego design, or even some simple gardening. You can even have your child ‘help’ you with some housework. Settling them down with some art and craft activities is also a great way to buy a little time.
Kids meals
Plan your kids meals for homeschool days. Healthy kids need their share of fruit and vegetables. Even fussy eaters will enjoy treats for working hard! Try healthy snacks but with a tasty sauce. Broccoli with a cheese dip or cucumber in salsa work especially well to get around picky eating!
Set a routine – and build in rewards
Draw up a schedule on some paper or a whiteboard every morning. Talk your child through it and see if they are comfortable with it. Tell them when break times and lunch will be. Let them know what delicious treats are on the menu! This is especially important for fussy eaters.
For schoolwork, try to fit in the most important activities such as math and English in the morning. All kids will be fresher and focused after a good night’s sleep, not to mention a wholesome breakfast.
Schools all across the U.S. will be dismissing for the summer break in the next few weeks, and many parents are looking for ways to keep their kids busy over the break. In addition to the normal yearly learning loss that students suffer over a long summer break, students have also suffered significant learning loss due to Covid.
We’ve put together a list of 10 free resources for parents who want some help exercising their kids’ brains over summer vacation. These are also great resources that teachers and tutors can use to create lesson plans and enrichment material.
Have you heard of the “summer learning slide?” According to studies, in a typical school year children lose about two months’ worth of educational knowledge over the summer months if they don’t engage in some type of academic activity.
Connecting with your child’s teacher or teachers is a time-tested, reliable way to get detailed feedback on how your child is doing in school, both academically and socially. We have some recommendations for helping you get the best out of a parent/teacher conference.
Have you heard of the “summer learning slide?” According to studies, in a typical school year children lose about two months’ worth of educational knowledge over the summer months if they don’t engage in some type of academic activity.
And this year has been anything but “typical”. A recent report in the Washington Post says, “school districts across the country are planning to return to full-time, in-person classes this fall.” Some school districts are planning a hybrid plan that combines in-person with some remote learning. While they debate the merits of those kinds of programs, plus many other decisions they need to make, one thing they all agree on is that learning has suffered some major setbacks over the past year.
COVID learning loss combined with the summer learning slide make a compelling argument for having students engage in some kind of academic activity over the summer.
Summer Vacation Plus Learning
Summer is a great time for kids to unwind from a particularly stressful school year, but many parents want their children to have a little bit of academic activity to keep their kids’ brains engaged and hopefully prevent more learning loss. Summer tutoring could be the perfect solution.
An hour or two a week throughout the summer could help most students maintain their current proficiency or even improve so they start the next school year ahead of where they ended this year. And teachers who work with students over the summer also keep their skills sharp while they enjoy the one-on-one interaction that they get with private tutoring.
An hour of time spent one-on-one with a certified teacher who not only knows the academic content inside and out, but is also a trained educator who knows how to help students, can achieve results far beyond spending hours in a classroom with dozens of other students.
Benefits of One-on-One Teaching
At TutorUp, all of our tutors are certified, experienced classroom teachers who have gone through our thorough interviewing/vetting process so we are confident that every tutor we match with a student is capable of making a significant contribution to that student’s academic achievement. And our summer tutors are the same top-quality teachers we work with all year. Here are just some ways that a learning experience that involves one student with one teacher is a superior teaching environment:
The student has the teacher’s undivided attention
It’s a safe space where the student does not have to be concerned about what his or her classmates might say or think. They are free to be themselves.
Related to that, a one-on-one session helps eliminate distractions and helps the student focus
The teacher is able to adapt tutoring sessions to suit the individual student’s needs and learning style
In-Person Summer Activities May Still Be Restricted
It’s looking like many summer programs, summer camps, summer sports, and other “normal” summer activities are still going to be somewhat restricted or even on hiatus this coming summer. Plus there are many parents who are not quite ready to have their children sign up for group activities. Summer tutoring can help give your child some structured activity over vacation.
Summer “school” shouldn’t be your child’s main activity. It’s important to make sure your kids have free time, and spend time soaking up vitamin D outdoors. But if you’re looking for a little learning support to avoid summer learning loss and bridge the gap until school starts back up in the fall, take a look at summer tutoring.
