Hi iLearn Academy blog followers,

The College Board has sort of released 2015/2016 SAT results last week. You can view them HERE. The report details results for tests dates prior to the June 2016 test, which was the first date of the new SAT format and scoring. The college board sighted these reasons for not including these new scores in its report:

• The redesigned tests are new tests based on different specifications than the old tests.
• While the majority of students in the class of 2016 took the old SAT, some took the new SAT.
• The way we collect and report race and ethnicity data has changed.
• We changed our data systems to support our new score-reporting portal and to better align to school, district, and state data systems.

The college board is essentially saying that there is not an empirical way to compare the scores of old SAT to the new SAT. This makes it very hard for students, parents and learning facilities like ours to know what a "good" score for the new SAT is. Until students who took the new SAT start getting accepted into colleges there is no clear way to definitively set target scores for students. You can prepare for the content of the new SAT but will have a hard time setting goals for your preparation. Time would be better spent prepping for the ACT, where not only content but scores are defined and consistent.

As far as the new format of the essay writing test, virtually nothing has changed. The most recent essay prompts implemented in 2015 are still in effect. Students are asked to analyze and evaluate multiple perspectives on a complex issue, responding to each individual perspective's arguments in their writing. Essays are still scored using a rubric with the four main areas of writing competency (ideas and analysis, development and support, organization, and language use and conventions). Each of these categories are scored out of a total 12 points by two independent readers, resulting in a sum score out of 48. Where last year's ACT Essay scores were scaled to match the other ACT test portions (giving students a number out of 36), the new 2016 ACT Essay score will now be an average of the four scores (producing a final score out of 12). 

​If you are unsure whether the ACT Writing Test is right for you, feel free to consult iLearn Academy today to discuss the benefits and expectations of the most recent test format. 


For more information on ACT's new Writing Test Scores visit:
ACT.org

Welcome back to the school year everyone. I hope your years are off to a great start. We are settling into our new semester as well and scheduling students as you read this. Please let us know once you've settled into your own fall semesters and know when your students will be available for iLearn Academy classes.

Today's post is addressed to a specific group among you, our 8th graders and their parents.  This is a friendly reminder to be sure to prepare yourselves for high school placement tests this year. Whether you're in private school, public school, or any combination of the two, high school placement tests play a significant role in determining your beginning courses in high school and set the possibilities for courses your entire high school career and sometimes even determine which schools you'll be able to attend.  You should spend some time preparing for these tests. They really have a large sway in determining your freshman classes. Your freshman classes do greatly effect the trajectory of your high school career. These tests can be beaten with a little prep so get on it.

No matter whether you are taking the Terra Novas in December in Glenview or the PSAT 8/9 in October in Skokie, or the ISEE/SSAT at a private school, these tests matter. Teacher recommendations, grades and these test results are all an admissions director has to determine where you or your student should begin his/her high school journey. Standardized tests results are the only concrete evidence someone placing a student has over that student's actual capabilities. You'd better believe they will be considered. 

Where you start as a freshman can really lock you into a pathway. Start off your high school career in the best position you can. It is a shame when students don't even have the option of making it into higher level classes. Low placement as a freshman can bar a student for example from reaching honors courses,  AP courses and the free college credits that accompany them. This can hurt their prospects of going to the colleges they wish to attend. If you are placed in classes which you feel are too hard you can always ask to be moved down. However, to ask to be moved up from a class you feel is too easy for you is a long process with less chance of success. Do well on these test and get into the highest classes you can manage to get into.

These test differ in format, and length. However, as far as content, they are not vastly different and cover the same topics. They are testing your capabilities in reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, mathematics, and data interpretation. Strategies and materials made for the test you or your student will specifically be taking may be hard to find, but materials which cover these content areas are everywhere. 

Here are a few helpful places:

Terra Nova

PSAT 8/9

ISEE/SSAT

Go luck prepping, everyone. If you need extra information over test dates, need more materials, or want some help reviewing before your test, stop by iLearn Academy and let us know what you need.

Thank you all,

iLearn Academy 

School's back in session!

Make sure to read our Fall Newsletter for up-to-date information about tutoring services, standardized testing, important dates, and much more.