For many juniors, spring is the most stressful time of the year, with college searches, AP exams, and of course, standardized tests. The two main standardized tests accepted by universities include the SAT and the ACT. The SAT consists of four sections – reading, writing, and math – while the ACT is composed of four parts including reading, English, math, and science.
During their sophomore and junior years, KO students take practice tests to familiarize themselves with the format of both the SAT and the ACT before deciding which test works better for them and their learning style. After going through this process herself, junior Amrita Natarajan decided to use the ACT for college admissions. “There are just certain sections like the math section that I found the questions to be a bit easier,” Amrita said. “I also like the science section because it was pretty much graph reading, so for me it was a good choice.”
Though the tests are viewed equally by colleges, the SAT tends to be more popular than the ACT among KO students, as the SAT is more traditional on the East Coast. “There’s a bias because of kind of myths and misunderstandings,” Director of College Advising Jami Silver said. “For the parents of our students, the ACT wasn’t really known as a test and so families are still a little bit cautious and think that it’s not actually the same [as the SAT] when colleges look at them.”
Once the student has selected which standardized test they want to take for the college admissions process, that student can begin their preparation. Some students and their families elect to hire a tutor to aid in the studying process while others simply buy review books to self-study. “I had a tutor, and I’d been preparing for about six months before through taking a few practice tests every week,” Amrita said, referring to her study process for the ACT. In addition to outside-of-school studying, KO is partnered with Summit Educational Group which helps KO offer practice tests in order to aid students in standardized test preparation.
As if this whole process isn’t stressful enough, COVID-19 adds a whole new layer of complications to the standardized testing process. As a result of many testing sites closing suddenly due to the pandemic, numerous colleges and universities decided to go test blind and even test-optional. Despite this, the majority of KO juniors still elected to take the SAT or ACT this spring.
KO students do not usually have the option to take the official SAT or ACT on campus, but this year the school decided to administer the tests to students. “We offered the tests this year mostly because of the pandemic and the anxieties around going to other test centers,” Ms. Silver said. The ACT was held on campus over March break on Tuesday, March 16, while the SAT was offered on campus during the remote week on Wednesday, March 24. Some students have received their scores approximately two weeks after their test date, but for others, they must patiently wait.
