Thursday, September 9, 2010

Taking and Re-Taking the SAT/ACT

Students and parents often wonder if it's worth it to re-take the SAT, or to take both the SAT and the ACT.  Here is one perspective, offered in the blog The Choice at the NY Times: An Argument Against Taking (and Retaking) the SAT and ACT

I think the short answer is, as it is for so many questions in life, "It depends."  If a student scores particularly well on either test and is satisfied with his/her results, then great!  Why go through it all again?  On the other hand, maybe a 100-300 point increase is possible now the student has more math under his/her belt, or an SAT review course, or whatever.  Maybe they had the flu the day they took it the first time, or for some reason simply weren't at their best that morning.  Taking it again makes a lot of sense in that case.

If one test score seems much, much better relative to the other (ACT vs. SAT) then stick with the one that's better!  Not sure if the colleges in question accept the ACT?  Go to their web site and check out their requirements for admission.   (As an aside, some schools are even "test optional" meaning they don't require the SAT or ACT at all.)

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