Kingswood Oxford’s Class of 2023 has just wrapped up their final round of practice standardized testing. The Pre-ACT was held on Thursday, Nov, 11, and the PSAT-NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) was held on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
“We used to take the Practice ACT on a Saturday,” Director of College Counseling Jami Silver said. “KO students do a lot of things, so every time we had it on a Saturday, the students either had a game, Model UN, or another extracurricular. They had to make choices, and we thought it was unfair to make them make these choices.”
For some students, getting to campus on a Saturday also proved challenging. To ensure equity in the practice tests, the times were shifted to align with the school day.
The sole purpose of the Pre-ACT is practice and exposure; the scores of the test remain off the books. The PSAT-NMSQT is also off the record, except for qualifications into the National Merit Scholarship. “A lot of our students actually do test prep even before the practice experiences,” Ms. Silver said. “For some students, this isn’t a bad idea, but we want to put it into perspective: this is still just a practice test.”
Due to the pandemic, the testing landscape has completely transformed, and many schools are not requiring standardized testing scores. “I’m very very happy about a lot of schools being test-optional now,” junior Stella Dodd said. “I think that it takes away a lot of the stress on our application process, especially if you’re not the best at testing.”
Junior Jill Plaut also sees the upside of withholding test scores. “I don’t think that test scores are a real reflection of you as a student,” she said. “Some people have really good grades, but they aren’t the best at testing.”
College advisors are relieved that the number of test-optional schools is only increasing. “We really do not love these tests, but we acknowledge the reality of them,” college counselor Matt Waldman said. “We want students to be prepared, but we’re not going to put pressure on testing if it’s not a student’s strength. We won’t know whether you’re strong in testing until you practice, which is why these tests are important.”
This is the second round of practice testing for the Class of 2023. The exams are taken in the spring of a student’s sophomore year and then again in the fall of junior year. Ideally, after multiple rounds of practice tests, students will have a better feeling about which test they feel more comfortable with.
“I think these practice tests really helped because they show you what will be on the real exams,” Jill said. “You also get a good sense of the timing, and after practicing both tests I’m pretty certain about which one I want to take for real.” Students start meeting with the college advising department in February of their junior year, and an important part of the process is creating an individualized testing plan with their respective advisor.
“You can choose not to put your energy into the testing route, but I think students should start out with finding their skills in the application process,” Mr. Waldman said. “The most important thing about these tests is just exposure, and the chance for students to see what route they might want to take.”
