WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE ACT SCIENCE SECTION?

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE ACT SCIENCE SECTION?

I HAVE HEARD THIS A THOUSAND TIMES ESPECIALLY FROM STUDENTS!! THE ACT SCIENCE SECTION HAS BECOME MUCH HARDER SINCE 2005. I THINK IT IS JUST AN EFFORT TO COMPETE WITH THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THE SAT, BUT NONETHELESS IT HAS BECOME HARDER. I DEFINITELY AGREE. THE ONE SAVING GRACE THAT THE ACT SCIENCE SECTION HAS IS THAT YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ANY ACTUAL SCIENCE AT ALL! 99% OF THE ANSWERS ARE EITHER IN THE CHARTS OR THE READING. USUALLY, ABOUT 80% OF THE ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND DIRECTLY OFF THE CHARTS AND 20% ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE READING. SO, BASICALLY THIS IS A PSYCH OUT TEST SECTION. THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO SCARE YOU WITH THE BIZARRE DIAGRAMS, CHARTS, ETC. BUT ALL THE INFORMATION IS THERE TO BE HAD!!

MY DAUGHTER TOOK THE ACT TWICE, AND THE SECOND TIME SHE TOOK IT SHE CAME UP 5 POINTS WITH LITTLE OR NO MORE TUTORING??

MY DAUGHTER TOOK THE ACT TWICE, AND THE SECOND TIME SHE TOOK IT SHE CAME UP 5 POINTS WITH LITTLE OR NO MORE TUTORING??

I JUST GOT ASKED THIS QUESTION YESTERDAY, AND IN FACT I HAVE BEEN ASKED THIS TYPE OF QUESTION LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF TIMES. THE REASON THIS HAPPENS IS THAT SOME ACT/SAT TESTS ARE EASIER THAN OTHERS AND ALSO SOME STUDENTS JUST MIGHT HAVE A BETTER DAY THE SECOND TIME THEY TAKE THE TEST. REMEMBER, WE ARE DEALING WITH HUMAN BEINGS HERE, MAINLY TEENAGERS!! SO, ALTHOUGH WE WOULD LIKE THINGS TO BE AS PREDICTABLE AS POSSIBLE SOMETIMES THEY ARE JUST NOT THAT WAY WHEN DEALING WITH THESE TESTS. HOWEVER, THIS IS CERTAINLY A WONDERFUL THING THAT MANY STUDENTS WHEN THEY TAKE THE TEST AGAIN LIKELY THEIR SCORE WILL IMPROVE.

BRIEFLY, WHAT ARE THE TOP REASONS A STUDENT MAY NOT DO WELL ON THE SAT OR ACT TEST EVEN AFTER TUTORING?

BRIEFLY, WHAT ARE THE TOP REASONS A STUDENT MAY NOT DO WELL ON THE SAT OR ACT TEST EVEN AFTER TUTORING?

THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN GREAT DETAIL IN ONE OF THE POSTS FROM SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. HOWEVER, I GET ASKED THIS OFTEN BY POTENTIAL CLIENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY GONE TO ANOTHER TUTORING SERVICE (AND SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS) AND DID NOT GET ANY IMPROVEMENT WHATSOEVER FOR THEIR CHILD ON THE ACT OR SAT. WHAT I AM GOING TO DO IS LIST SOME OF THE TOP REASONS (BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE) WHY A STUDENT WOULD NOT IMPROVE ON THE ACT OR SAT AFTER TUTORING. HERE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS I KNOW OF (PLEASE SEE MY OTHER POST ON THIS TOPIC AS IT IS HAS MORE INFORMATION AND IS VERY VALUABLE).

• 1) GROUP TUTORING - GROUP TUTORING SERVICES RARELY WORK WELL. THEY DO NOT WORK WELL UNLESS THE STUDENT IS A VERY HIGH ACHIEVER ALREADY. THE INFORMATION ON THE ACT AND SAT IS HIGHLY DIFFICULT IN PARTS, AND THIS REQUIRES ONE ON ONE TUTORING. I USED TO DO GROUP TUTORING BUT IT DID NOT GET THE HIGH RESULTS I LIKE TO GET SO I DISCONTINUED GROUP TUTORING IN THE LATE 1980'S. GROUP TUTORING IS ESPECIALLY NOT GOOD FOR ANY LEARNING DIFFERENCED STUDENT! THIS IS CRITICAL!!! AN LD STUDENT SIMPLY CANNOT USUALLY FUNCTION IN A CLASSROOM OF 10 TO 50+ STUDENTS WHO ARE ALL COMPETING FOR A HIGH SCORE ON THE ACT OR SAT. JUST WON'T WORK. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY CALLS I GET FOR THAT ON A DAILY BASIS (LD STUDENT WHO HAS ALREADY DUMPED THOUSANDS ON A GROUP COURSE THAT DID NOT HELP AT ALL). NO MATTER WHAT THE GROUP COURSE SAYS, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT ANY LD STUDENT WOULD DO BETTER WITH PRIVATE TUTORING. SOME GROUP TUTORING SERVICES ARE VERY GOOD, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT STUDENT TO MATCH WITH A GROUP TUTORING SERVICE.
• 2) ANXIETY - STUDENTS WITH A PAST HISTORY OF NOT DOING WELL ON LONG TESTS SUCH AS ERB'S OR OTHER ACHIEVEMENT TESTS ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME TROUBLE ON THE ACT OR SAT. THIS IS USUALLY DUE TO SOME DIAGNOSED OR UNDIAGNOSED ANXIETY PROBLEM. MEDICATION CAN AND USUALLY DOES HELP. IF YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER HAS A HISTORY OF DIFFICULTIES ON LONG, STANDARDIZED TESTS ALWAYS COMMUNICATE THIS TO THE TUTOR, AND DO NOT EXPECT THIS TO GO AWAY UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE PROBLEM WITH MEDICATION, TUTORING, OR COUNSELING. I HAVE DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN DEALING WITH THESE TYPE OF ISSUES. HOWEVER, SOME STUDENTS I CAN HELP OVER COME THIS WITH STRATEGIES, ETC. AND SOME I CANNOT. THE ONES I CANNOT HELP USUALLY RESPOND WELL TO MEDICATION. ALWAYS GO TO A PROFESSIONAL MD FOR MEDICATION. NEVER SELF MEDICATE! I HAVE ALSO HAD MANY STUDENTS WHO CAME TO ME WHO DID HAVE LEARNING DIFFERENCES AND OR ANXIETY PROBLEMS AND THE PARENT WAS NOT HONEST WITH ME ABOUT THAT FROM THE BEGINNING. IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT, YOU ARE ONLY HURTING YOURSELF BECAUSE IF I KNOW THE PARTICULARS OF A LEARNING ISSUE/ANXIETY ISSUE, ETC. I CAN WORK WITH IT BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE IN DEALING WITH SUCH MATTERS. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO BE HONEST WITH TUTORS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS REGARDING THIS MATTER.
• 3) INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL PRESSURE - IT IS OF IMMENSE IMPORTANCE TO MAKE SURE THE STUDENT UNDERSTANDS THAT THESE TESTS CAN BE TAKEN MORE THAN ONCE. THIS WILL HELP ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PRESSURE ON ANY ONE TEST SITTING. SOMETIMES PRESSURE COMES FROM THE PARENTS OR THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE A SAFE, NURTURING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE STUDENT TO DEAL WITH THESE TESTS. THIS INCLUDES AT HOME! I HAVE HAD SOME VERY UPTIGHT STUDENTS IN THE PAST WHO PUT WAY TOO MANY EXPECTATIONS ON THEMSELVES THAT NOT EVEN THEIR PARENTS EXPECTED. USUALLY, I CAN DETECT THIS AND WORK WITH THE STUDENT SOME ON THESE ISSUES.
• 4) UNDIAGNOSED LEARNING DIFFERENCES MAY HAVE SOME TYPE OF LD ISSUES THAT I DO NOT SAY THAT LIGHTLY. I HAVE THUS FAR BEEN 100% CORRECT ANYTIME I HAVE THOUGHT THIS. A STUDENT WHO HAS TAKEN THE ACT OR SAT MANY TIMES AND JUST CANNOT DO WELL MAY HAVE LEARNING ISSUES THAT ONLY ACCOMMODATIONS FOR LD STUDENTS CAN HELP AMELIORATE. YOU WOULD THEN NEED TO GET YOUR STUDENT TESTED.
• 5) USING INAPPROPRIATE TUTORING RESOURCES - NOT ALL TUTORS ARE EQUAL. SOME ARE VERY GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO AND SOME ARE NOT. IT HAS TAKEN ME EVERY BIT OF EXPERIENCE SINCE I OPENED IN 1982 TO LEARN HOW TO TUTOR WELL. IT IS JUST THAT DIFFICULT TO HANDLE THE MYRIAD TYPES OF STUDENTS ONE ENCOUNTERS IN TUTORING. BEFORE YOU HIRE A TUTOR CHECK OUT THEIR REFERENCES (IF THEY HAVE ANY). MAKE SURE YOU ARE HIRING A TUTORING RESOURCE THAT HAS A PROVEN RECORD OF SUCCESS. IF YOU DON'T TAKE THE TIME TO INVESTIGATE THE TUTORING RESOURCES YOU MAY END UP SPENDING THOUSANDS WITH NO RESULTS.  ALSO SOMETIMES A STUDENT JUST DOESN'T GET ALONG WELL WITH A CURRENT TUTOR.  YOU CAN TRY SWITCHING TUTORS TO SEE IF THAT HELPS.  HOWEVER, IF YOU DO HAVE A CURRENT TUTOR THAT HAS A GOOD TRACK RECORD I WOULD EXAMINE OTHER SUGGESTIONS FIRST BEFORE CHANGING TUTORS. 
• 6) OTHER LIFE CONCERNS GOING ON - BELIEVE IT OR NOT I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL INSTANCES WHERE A STUDENT DID NOT DO WELL BECAUSE THEY WERE HAVING TROUBLE WITH A RELATIONSHIP, I.E. BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND TROUBLES! SO BE SURE THAT NOTHING EXTRANEOUS IS GOING ON LIKE THAT BEFORE YOUR CHILD TAKES THE TEST.  I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH BREAKING UP WITH A GIRLFRIEND OR BOYFRIEND COULD INTERFERE WITH THESE TESTS!!!  I HAVE SEENT THIS TOO MANY TIMES.
• 7) PHYSICAL REASONS - I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL CASES WHERE A STUDENT TOOK AN ACT OR SAT RIGHT THE DAY AFTER A MAJOR SPORTS EVENT AND THEY WERE TOO TIRED AND DID NOT LIVE UP TO THEIR POTENTIAL. MAKE SURE WHEN YOU ARE SCHEDULING THESE TESTS THAT NO SIGNIFICANT EVENT IS SCHEDULED THE DAY BEFORE THE SAT OR ACT. THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE TEST SHOULD BE AS NORMAL A DAY AS POSSIBLE. I HAVE EVEN TOLD CERTAIN STUDENTS TO JUST TAKE A HALF DAY OFF SCHOOL AND COME HOME AND REST. YOU NEED TO REST AND EAT WELL THE DAY BEFORE THE TEST (I HAVE AN ENTIRE 8 PAGE HANDOUT I GIVE TO MY STUDENTS THE WEEK BEFORE THEY TAKE THE TEST THAT DETAILS THIS TYPE OF STUFF - I.E. WHAT TO DO THE DAY BEFORE YOU TAKE YOUR ACT OR SAT). OBVIOUSLY ONE SHOULD NEVER DRINK ALCOHOL THE NIGHT BEFORE THE ACT OR SAT!! (YES I HAVE HAD TWO STUDENTS SINCE 1982 THAT CONFESSED TO DOING JUST THAT AND OF COURSE THEY DID NOT DO WELL). ALSO, NEVER TAKE ONE OF THESE TESTS IF YOU ARE PHYSICALLY ILL. IF YOU HAVE A FEVER OVER 100 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT JUST DON'T TAKE THE TEST. YOU CAN ALWAYS TAKE IT AGAIN. BEING ILL TEST DAY IS NO WAY TO DO WELL.  YOU PROBABLY SHOULD NOT TAKE A TEST DURING A HOLIDAY (SUCH AS SPRING BREAK, CHRISTMAS, ETC.) UNLESS REALLY NECESSARY.  WHEN STUDENTS ARE IN HOLIDAY MODE, TESTING GOES OUT THE WINDOW SOMETIMES.
• 8) PHYSICAL INJURIES - YES EVEN IF YOU HAVE A SMALL PHYSICAL INJURY (ESPECIALLY IF IT IS VERY RECENT) THAT CAUSES PAIN IT MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST IDEA TO TAKE THE TEST. IF YOU HAVE BROKEN ANY BONES WITHIN THE LAST 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE TEST IT WOULD NOT BE A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE THAT TEST. OF COURSE, THIS IS A PARENTAL DECISION ALSO BUT I HAVE SEEN MANY CASES WHERE A STUDENT WENT AHEAD AND TOOK THE ACT OR SAT UNDER PHYSICAL DURESS FROM A RECENT INJURY; THEY DID NOT DO AS WELL AS THEY SHOULD HAVE. THEY TOOK THE TEST AGAIN AFTER SOME TIME HAD PASSED AND THE INJURY HAD HEALED SOMEWHAT AND THEY DID A LOT BETTER.
• 9) PREVIOUS ESTABLISHED HISTORY OF HAVING DIFFICULTIES WITH LENGTHY TESTS - THERE ARE MANY STUDENTS I HAVE ENCOUNTERED THAT ARE JUST NOT GOOD AT TAKING THESE LONG TESTS! HOWEVER, THEY CAN BE IMPROVED SOMEWHAT WITH TUTORING. NOTICE I SAID SOMEWHAT. THEY WILL NOT GET AS MUCH IMPROVEMENT VIA TUTORING VS. ANOTHER STUDENT WHO IS GOOD AT SUCH TESTING.- THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO CATEGORY #2 BUT WHAT I MEAN HERE IS THAT A PARTICULAR STUDENT WHO COMES TO TUTORING AND I NOTICE THAT THEY MAY HAVE SEVERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A STUDENT WHO HAS DIAGNOSED LEARNING DIFFERENCES. YOU CAN BE SURE THAT IF I TELL A PARENT THAT I SUSPECT THEIR CHILD

REPORT ON THE OCTOBER 2008 SAT I

OF COURSE ONCE AGAIN IT APPEARS THE OCTOBER SAT I WAS DIFFICULT IN BOTH SECTIONS. SCORES WERE NOT AS HIGH AS OTHER SAT I TESTS. THIS IS VERY MUCH INLINE WITH THE SAT MONEY MAKING SCHEME OF MAKING THE OCTOBER TEST HARD SO STUDENTS WILL HAVE TO TAKE IT AGAIN IN THE FOLLOWING MONTHS OF NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, OR JANUARY (MY OPINION ONLY). ALL OF MY STUDENTS EXCEPT MAYBE ONE OR TWO IMMEDIATELY SAID THE TEST WAS HARD AFTER TAKING IT, AND THEIR SCORES INDICATED THIS. I AM SURE THE NOVEMBER AND ESPECIALLY THE DECEMBER SAT I OF THIS YEAR WILL BE MUCH BETTER. I WILL PUBLISH THE OFFICIAL STATISTICS ONCE I FIND THEM ONLINE. THE PRINCETON REVIEW WEBSITE USUALLY POSTS A GOOD STATEMENT ABOUT THE RESULTS OF THE MOST RECENT SAT I. YOU CAN SEE THAT AT WWW.PRINCETONREVIEW.COM.

CAN YOU TAKE A TIMER INTO THE ACT OR THE SAT?

ABSOLUTELY NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YOU WILL BE THROWN OUT.   HOWEVER, YOU CAN TAKE A TIMER INTO EITHER TEST AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT MAKE ANY SOUNDS WHATSOEVER.  I DO SELL SUCH TIMERS HERE AS I HAVE SURGICALLY REMOVED THE SOUND MAKING MECHANISMS.

YOU CANNOT TAKE ANYTHING INTO THE TESTS THAT MAKES SOUNDS!

SEPTEMBER 2008 ACT STUDENT REPORT

SEPTEMBER 2008 STUDENT ACT REPORT

IT SEEMS AS USUAL THAT THE FIRST ACT OF THE FALL WAS QUITE HARD. MOST STUDENTS REPORT NOT FINISHING THE MATH SECTION AND THAT AS USUAL THE SCIENCE SECTION WAS QUITE HARD. SCORES IN ENGLISH SEEMED HIGH, BUT SCORES IN READING SEEMED LOW. THUS, OVERALL THIS APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN A HARD ACT. MUCH HARDER THAN THE ACT OF LAST JUNE 2008. THIS IS AGAIN ON PAR WITH THEIR USUAL TACTIC OF MAKING THE FIRST TEST OF FALL HARD SO LOTS OF STUDENTS MUST TAKE IT AGAIN THEREBY MAKING THEM MORE $$$$$ (MY OPINION ONLY). THE LAST JUNE 2008 ALL OF MY STUDENTS SCORED ROUGHLY 1.75 POINTS HIGHER AND MATH SCORES WERE MUCH HIGHER AS WERE OTHERS.

HOW DO YOU COMPARE ACT VS. SAT I SCORES?

HOW DO YOU COMPARE ACT VS. SAT I SCORES?


THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF CONVERSION TABLES ONLINE. MOST COLLEGES ACTUALLY PUBLISH THEIR OWN BECAUSE THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL WAY OF DOING THIS! I CAN SUGGEST SOME WEB SITES FOR YOU SUCH AS:

http://www.spartanburg6.k12.sc.us/dhs/Guidance%20website/SAT-ACT%20Conversion%20chart.html

http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?s_it=topsearchbox.search&query=ACT+vs.+SAT+scores+conversion+charts

http://www.ivywest.com/acttosat.htm

(this one below is from UT Austin):
http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/research/ACT-SATconcordance.html

So there are dozens of these sites. Best thing is to check with the particular universities you are interested in. Usually these are posted on the University web site. Be careful to make sure you are using the NEW comparsion charts vs. the older ones.

DOES MY SON/DAUGHTER NEED MEDICATION FOR TEST ANXIETY OR ENDURANCE ISSUES?

DOES MY SON/DAUGHTER NEED MEDICATION FOR TEST ANXIETY OR ENDURANCE ISSUES?

In the past 28 some odd years I have run across approximately 3 clients who had extreme test anxiety and or endurance issues and they absolutely could not overcome them without the aid of medication.

The scenario is usually a student who has since grade school had obvious difficulty on longer type tests like achievement tests, final exams, etc. This typically is usually a very, very good student who makes very high grades. It doesn't seem to happen on tests of length one hour or less but bigger tests they really have a problem. Tutoring can improve a lot of this problem, but sometimes medication is the only way to assure the problem really gets improved. I not at all saying that I am an advocate of medicating our children, but I have seen medication make miraculous improvements in this type of situation; these short acting medications do not have to be taken regularly. One takes them before tests or before studying for long periods of time and it seems to really help.

I have found that there exist some types of medication that act in the short term and do not have to be taken regularly that truly can help a situation like this! You would have to see a professional doctor/psychiatrist to obtain such medications, but I have seen lives completely turned around by this.

I TOOK THE SAT I THREE TIMES AND FINALLY JUMPED 200 POINTS ON THE LAST SAT I WHY IS THIS?

I TOOK THE SAT I THREE TIMES AND FINALLY JUMPED 200 POINTS ON THE LAST SAT I WHY IS THIS?

WELL I HAVE SOMEWHAT EXPLAINED THIS BEFORE. THE SAT I AND THE ACT MAKE SOME TESTS MUCH HARDER THAN OTHERS. THIS IS ALSO SUBJECTIVE; YOU MIGHT KNOW SOME CONCEPTS BETTER THAN OTHERS. IF THE TEST YOU TAKE JUST HAPPENS TO COVER THE CONCEPTS YOU KNOW WELL THEN TO YOU IT WOULD BE AN EASY TEST. PROBABLY ON THE THIRD ATTEMPT YOU TOOK A GOOD SAT I FOR YOU AND YOUR PRIOR PRACTICE OF TAKING TWO SAT TESTS DID HELP. ALSO IT TAKES SOMETIMES TWO OR THREE TESTS TO GET USED TO HOW LONG THE ACTUAL SAT I IS. OFTEN I TELL CLIENTS THAT DOING BETTER MAY JUST BE AN ISSUE OF TAKING ANOTHER SAT I INSTEAD OF MORE TUTORING.

MY SON/DAUGHTER HAS TAKEN THE SAT SEVERAL TIMES AND JUST CANNOT DO WELL??

MY SON/DAUGHTER HAS TAKEN THE SAT SEVERAL TIMES AND JUST CANNOT DO WELL!!??

I HAVE SEEN THIS SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE NEWER, LONGER SAT I AS OF MARCH 2005. AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE IN THIS BLOG, THE NEW SAT I IS LONGER THAN THE MCAT (MEDICAL COLLEGE ADMISSION TEST - THIS TEST IS TAKEN BY COLLEGE GRADUATES!), LSAT (LAW SCHOOL ENTRANCE TEST), GMAT (GRADUATE MANAGEMENT APTITUDE TEST), AND THE GRE (GRADUATE RECORDS EXAM), AND MORE. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT IS ABSURD THAT A HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL TEST IS THIS LONG. NONETHELESS, IT GOES ON. WHAT I RECOMMEND A PERSON DO IS SWITCH TO THE SOMEWHAT SHORTER ACT IF THEY ABSOLUTELY CANNOT DEAL WITH THE SAT I. THE ACT IS SHORTER AND DIFFERENT THAN THE SAT I. THE ACT WITH EXTENDED TIME IS ALSO SHORTER THAN THE SAT WITH EXTENDED TIME. THIS SITUATION IS HAPPENING MORE AND MORE WITH THE NEW SAT I. MANY HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE COMPLAINED TO THE COLLEGE BOARD WITH NO RESULTS.