THE ROAD AHEAD

Navigating

College Admission Tests

Bruce Reed, Co-Founder

Compass Education Group

Holistic Review

GPA Rigor Test Scores

Recommendation Letters

Personal Essay

AP/IB Scores

Demonstrated interest

Extra-curriculars

Class Rank

Legacy Status Financial Need

Interview Work / Internships

Application Bubble

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1967 1976 1986 1996 2006

College Applications - % Submitted

One application Four or more applications

Application Bubble

Grade Inflation = Less Differentiation

1991 2014

Standardized Tests

Resist Inflation

SAT (2014)

See pages 4-5 of Compass Guide

SAT or ACT

Required

≈1,450

Subject Tests ≈35

ACT in lieu of

Subject Tests ≈12 Test Optional/Flexible ≈50

Test Requirements

3 Timelines for

Preparation and Testing

FRONT MIDDLE END

Begin prep summer

before 11th grade

Goal: National

Merit recognition

Aim to finish

testing by end

of 11th grade

Begin prep fall

of 11th grade

PSAT used as

a benchmark

Peak in late

spring of 11th grade

or fall of 12th grade

Begin prep spring

of 11th grade

First test end

of 11th grade

Continue prep and

repeat testing

fall of 12th grade

See Compass Guide pp. 10-11

Sensible Sequence

Fall/Winter PSAT & Practice ACT

Spring SAT (March / May) or ACT (Feb / April)

Late Spring Subject Tests (May / June)

Summer Refresher Preparation

Fall Re-test as Necessary (Oct / Nov)

Repeat Testing

0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 900,000

Once

Repeat

1 Sitting

2 Sittings

3 Sittings

4 Sittings

5+ Sittings

Super-scoring

April ACT

English 26

Math 27

Reading 27

Science 23

Composite 26

September ACT

English 29

Math 25

Reading 24

Science 27

Composite 26

Super-scored ACT

English 29

Math 27

Reading 27

Science 27

Composite 28

Concordance and Comparison

ACT Composite

Old SAT

CR+M+W

New SAT

EBRW+M

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

2390

2330

2250

2180

2120

2060

2000

1940

1820

1770

1710

1650

1590

To be released

May 20161880

Structural Highlights of New SAT

Returns to the 1600-point scale

Guessing penalty eliminated

Shorter (but not really)

Calculator and non-calculator sections

Essay is optional

PSAT Structure: 2014 vs. 2015

2014 2015

Scoring 20 to 80 (x 3) 160 to 760 (x 2)

Time 2 hours 10 minutes 2 hours 45 minutes

Reading 48 items | 50 min 47 items | 60 min

Writing 39 items | 30 min 44 items | 35 min

Math 38 items | 50 min

Non-Calculator

17 items | 25 min

Calculator

31 items | 45 min

Vertical Alignment

See page 17 of Compass Guide

Comparing Test Structure

Thematic Elements of New SAT

Verbal Skills

Evidence-Based Responses

Vocabulary in Context

Grammar in Context

Math & Analytic Skills

Graphic Literacy

Core Math

‘Rule of Four’

Math Focus: Old SAT vs. New SAT vs. ACT

Pre-AlgebraOld

SAT

New

SAT ACT

Number Properties

Venn Diagrams

Imaginary Numbers

Sequences

GeometryOld

SAT

New

SAT ACT

Similar Triangles

Perimeter

Visualization

Trigonometry

AlgebraOld

SAT

New

SAT ACT

Inequalities

Quadratics

Zeros

Variation

Data AnalysisOld

SAT

New

SAT ACT

Two-way Tables

Scatterplots

Data Graphics

Sampling

See pages 30-31 of Compass Guide

Rise of the ACT

SAT takers up 15% since 2005

ACT takers up 62% since 2005

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Tho

usa

nd

s o

f St

ud

ents

SAT

ACT

Test Prep Trends at Compass

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

SAT

ACT

ACT English

Difficulty Distribution

See page 43 of Compass Guide

Data reflects performance of several thousand ACT takers on 11 different tests.

ACT Math

Difficulty Distribution

See Compass Guide page 45

Where to Invest Effort

Percentage of Possible Math Points(By Student Score Range)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 5910 20 30 40 50 60

ACT Reading

Difficulty Distribution

See Compass Guide page 46

ACT Science

Difficulty Distribution

See page 47 of Compass Guide

New ACT Essay(Debuted September 2015)

Issue: PrivacyTechnology is changing our ideas about privacy. Our social media

posts help us connect to friends, families, and people across the globe,

but they also supply a steady stream of information to advertisers and,

potentially, to governments, employers, and law enforcement agencies.

Smartphone apps track our locations, buying habits, and Internet

searches; that data can be both used to improve services and sold to

companies to better target marketing. We’re increasingly willing to share

our opinions, images, and relationships online and to turn to the Internet

to run searches on others. As sharing our lives with a global audience

increasingly becomes the norm, it’s important to consider how our

connected lifestyle is changing the value we place upon privacy.

Features 40 minutes; Optional*

Analysis of perspectives

Scored in 4 areas:

Ideas & Analysis

Development and Support

Organization

Language Use

Perspective One

Social media and

smartphone apps help

us navigate the world

and our relationships

with greater knowledge

and insight. The only

people who should be

worried about losing

privacy are those who

have something to hide.

Perspective Two

When we lose our

sense of private lives,

we lose part of

ourselves. Being on

public display hinders

introspection and a

sense of our

independent identities.

When nothing is private,

nothing is personal.

Perspective Three

Our desire for privacy is

often rooted in

embarrassment about

common human issues

like illness. Letting go of

old ideas about privacy

would break down

barriers and help create

a more open and

empathetic society.

Subject Tests: Overview

200-800 scale; 1 hour per test (up to 3 in one day)

“Guessing Penalty” is still in effect

“Easier” scale but “Harder” testing pool

Cannot take SAT and Subject Tests on same date

www.subject-tests.com (Policies by college)

Subject Tests: Options

Literature

U.S. History or World History

Math Level 2 or Math Level 1

Biology (E/M), Chemistry, and Physics

French, Chinese, German, Spanish, Modern

Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Latin

Subject Tests: Policies

UC system no longer requires Subject Tests

Only Georgetown “requires” 3 Subject Tests

22 colleges officially require* 2

Many colleges “recommend” 2

Some schools provide specific guidelines

* ACT in lieu of Subject Tests is OK at some colleges

Subject Tests: Required

Required, No Exception ACT in Lieu of OK

Caltech

Carnegie Mellon

The Cooper Union

Cornell

Dartmouth

Harvard

Harvey Mudd

MIT

Webb Institute

Williams

Amherst

Barnard

Brown

Columbia

Duke

Haverford

McGill

Rice

Swarthmore

Tufts

Vassar

Wellesley

Subject Tests: Recommended

Carleton

Davidson

Emory

Georgetown

Johns Hopkins

Lafayette

Lehigh

Northwestern

Pratt Institute

Princeton

Stanford

UC Berkeley

UC Irvine

UCLA

UC Riverside

UC San Diego

UC Santa Barbara

University of Delaware

University of Georgia

University of Pennsylvania

University of Virginia

USC

Washington and Lee

Yale

Diagnostic Testing

Compass hosts proctored practice tests

for all college admission tests.

Redwood Shores | Sunnyvale | San Jose

See inside back cover

Application Bubble

• Guide in e-book form

• Monthly email newsletter

• Proctored Practice Tests

• Testing plan & preparation

Individualized Support

Pragmatic Resilient

Planners Drivers

The Smartest Test Takers I Know

Q & A

Northern California

In-home tutoring(800) 620-6250

www.compassprep.com

Practice ACT

at St. Francis

February 20th, 2016