Hello to all the teachers, administrators, parents and students out there!
The past three months have been unprecedented for school districts, students, and parents throughout the country. As we look to the Fall and a new school year, we can certainly expect more changes.
In addition to school districts adapting to the changing environment, the ACT® has announced changes of their own. Beginning in September 2020, three new testing options will be available on national ACT® test dates: section retesting, superscoring, and online testing.
Section Retesting will be available for all students who’ve taken the full ACT. If a student has a valid Composite Score on file with ACT for a full test, he or she can re-test on individual subject tests. A student may take up to three section retests on any one test date. Students will be able to prepare to re-test with a more narrow focus of material, and testing time will be shorter than the full three-hour test.
For students planning to take a Section Retest, Power Prep's private online tutoring is a great way to improve a single subject score. We've had students who have increased a single subject score by ten points after only four individual tutoring sessions!
The ACT score reports will now include a Superscore. An ACT Superscore is the average of the four best section scores from each of the student’s ACT test attempts. Rather than focusing on just one total score or one Composite Score for college admissions and scholarships, students may use only their very best individual test results across multiple test attempts or their Superscore. According to ACT, “Superscores truly reflect the student’s proficiency in the subject matter and are proven to be a more accurate predictor of first-year college grades, compared to other score evaluation methods.”
This option gives students a wide range of flexibility after they've taken their first ACT assessment. We strongly recommend students take the text multiple times to get more familiar with the types of questions, and the timing of the various sections. With Superscores, students can focus on improving their scores in specific subjects through private online tutoring and experience reduced anxiety on test day, knowing they can prepare and focus more strategically.
The choice is the student’s: online or paper testing on national test days. When the test is taken online, results can be available as soon as two business days post-completion. Students usually receive paper-pencil test results in two to four weeks. Each medium of testing has its advantages and disadvantages. Students can fit testing environment to their needs, familiarity, and comfort level.
With quicker test results, students can target and focus their study strategies to maximize their results on the subsequent exam.
These fresh approaches are designed to give students more choices, a better experience, and provide greater confidence that their test scores reflect their overall academic achievement and potential.
Higher scores translate into larger scholarships. A few hundred dollars of tutoring now can result in thousands of dollars of reduced tuition costs through university scholarships.
Invest now in your student!