March, May, and June have seen thousands of high school juniors and seniors study for and sit for the new redesigned SAT. Along side the students were many professional test-takers with the primary goal of understanding the changes to the test so that they can develop better testing preparatory materials for those very important high school students. It is these professionals who lay the claim of gender bias. [read more]
All of the sub-tests on the ACT are scored on a perfect score of 36 with the exception of the writing component, which will change to a 1-12 score. Some are concerned that this move will cause confusion with a population that is used to the 1-36 scale, but there is an explanation on the score report for anyone interested in reading about the new score. [read more]
Did you know you could pay for a re-score of your ACT essay? The cost for the extra read is $50, but many students score better on the re-score and the fee is refunded if the new score is higher than the original. [read more]
All SAT scores for May 2013 test taken in South Korea have been cancelled in response to widespread cheating. This is a first for the CollegeBoard. “The cancellation has thrown college-entrance preparations for thousands of students into disarray. Some students now plan to travel to other countries in the region to ensure they are able to take the next test in the summer.” Read more in the Wall Street Journal.
Tamar Lewin of the New York Times with the following announcement. “We are moving to a computer-based version, but for the foreseeable future, we will also have the paper and pencil test as an option for schools that don’t have the technological capability,” said Jon Erickson, the president of ACT’s Education Division. “We will probably have the option for students to choose paper and pencil, as well. But all the anecdotal evidence is that students prefer the computer.” [read more]