A More Flexible Exam

Are you ready for a “new and improved” ACT test? Changes coming to the new ACT exam in April 2025 should help to address two often-cited drawbacks of the test: stressful time constraints and a mandatory science section.

Test scores will still be reported on the current scale of 1-36, and online testing will continue to be offered in select locations, but the content and structure of the new exam will be noticeably different.

The New ACT Core Test

If the ACT makes good on its promises (and that’s a big “if”), students testing in Spring 2025 will enjoy a shorter core ACT test— just two hours instead of the current three—with sections in English, math, and reading.

The reduced testing time is a result of three updates: fewer questions in each section, shorter passages in the reading and English sections, and the elimination of science as a required section. With these changes, students will have more time to answer each question

Science Optional

Along with the current optional writing section, the science section will also become optional beginning in April 2025 according to the ACT’s proposal. This change will likely make the new ACT more appealing to students who might typically choose the SAT due to a lack of confidence in their science knowledge.

While there may still be colleges that require the ACT science section, the core ACT exam will be on a more even playing field with the SAT exam for those who do not identify science as a key skill or interest.

Greater Flexibility

With flexible options for added subject testing, the new ACT will offer students the opportunity to “focus on their strengths and showcase their abilities in the best possible way.” Students will have four testing options: the core ACT, the ACT plus writing, the ACT plus science, or the ACT plus both writing and science.

A Student-Centered Approach

Over the years, the ACT has had to overcome several perceived weaknesses of its test, including difficult pacing, the reluctance of some students to be tested on science, and even questions about the reliability and accuracy of the science section itself.

With the new optional science section and a shorter core exam, the new ACT has taken a step towards addressing these concerns and offering a testing experience with more appeal to a broader audience of college applicants.

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Will The ACT Be Shorter Soon? The June 8 ACT Surprise

Some students who took the newly available digital version of the ACT on June 8, 2024 were surprised when given their testing instructions and overview that morning. It turns out that what ACT has described as a “randomized subset” of testers that day were served a newer, shorter version of the test.

Why The Change? Likely To Keep Up With Its Competition, The SAT.

When the College Board rolled out its adaptive, digital SAT in March 2024, it was quickly embraced by today’s students. As one of the earliest digital-native generations, rising high school juniors and seniors have more experience testing and learning in online environments than they do with traditional pen-to-paper formats. Their preference for digital college-entrance exams is not surprising.

If Comparing Simply On Digital + Duration Time: The SAT Wins.

The digital format was not the only benefit students saw in taking the SAT over the ACT. The test duration, 134 minutes and 98 questions for the SAT vs. 175 minutes and 215 questions for the ACT is also more student friendly. The ACT may sense that it didn’t go far enough by simply offering its exam online.

Yes, The New SAT is Shorter But It’s Also More Difficult.

Because students have more time to answer, SAT developers are known to include sometimes unfamiliar approaches to testing concepts. Test-takers may find the question formats different from what they’re used to in the school setting.

In addition, while all ACT questions are weighted equally – that is, the easiest question is worth just as much as the most difficult question – the new SAT includes questions whose worth varies. Some questions count for nothing; others are more heavily weighted.

What Does This Mean For My Student?

While the SAT has always been popular on the national level, Minnesota students have largely preferred the ACT – until now. The appeal of the SAT’s digital format had our state’s students scrambling to find seats at SAT sites last spring, and often being disappointed with the lack of availability due to the sudden increase in demand.

SAT availability is still not on par with the ACT, so if timing is important, the ACT may be your best option. And we’re hopeful that the ACT is on its way to creating an exam that is just as appealing as the new SAT. As always, we’re here to help you assess the current state of this ever-changing landscape to help you find the best option.

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Now, besides worrying about ACT or SAT testing itself, families must worry about making other big decisions: to test or not to test, and whether to report scores or withhold them from the application.

Applying To Test Optional Schools: The Flying Colors Point Of View

Even when applying to test optional schools, we maintain that test scores are best used as one piece of a college application portfolio. Test scores add further support for a student’s GPA and other qualifications. But, unlike a GPA, test scores can be improved in a relatively short period of time.

When there is a discrepancy between a student’s GPA and test scores, good test prep can help a student close that gap and improve scores to better reflect their academic abilities.

Strategies For The Test-Optional Environment

If your student will be applying to some test-optional schools, here are a few things you should know:

Conclusion: Exam Scores Still Help, Even With Test Optional Schools

Despite what may feel like uncertain territory with the new test-optional admissions model, good grades supported by good test scores remain among the best ways to achieve success in the college application process – whether or not you’re applying to test optional schools.

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Students often find application essays especially challenging. Even students who like to write may be unfamiliar with the kind of personal narrative that the Common App essay section requires. Their most common complaint?

“I don’t have anything to write about.”

This is a frequent roadblock to getting started on the process. Without a topic, how do you begin? Parents may think there is some perfect topic that is beyond their student’s grasp. The reality? Every student has a topic. Much like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, the topic is part of them, and well within reach.

The right topic is the one that helps the reader (e.g. the admissions team) see something important about the real person behind the grades, scores, activities, and recommendations.

Ideally, that means a narrative about something that happened in high school where the student experienced some kind of growth or change. Bonus points for essays that reveal how the student learns, thinks and/or works with others.

Focus On Who, Not What

Perhaps surprisingly, WHAT the student does in the Common App essay matters less than you think—the plot or events are only a container for helping the reader better understand WHO the student is. Students don’t have to have cured cancer or gone to the moon to have a great essay. In fact, a standout essay from a former Flying Colors student described his experience driving around the block as he contemplated his options after grazing a parked car one snowy day. (Spoiler alert: he took responsibility.)

Even topics that would be considered more cliché, such as the loss of grandparents or overcoming sports injuries, can evolve into a successful essay when the student is clear about why the story is important to understanding them.

The Ruby Slippers

The good news? The seeds of those topics already exist for your student because everyone’s life is full of defining moments — as mundane as they may seem at the time. Telling the story of those moments is the key to writing an effective Common App essay.

Want to learn more?  Email Sally Spector at [email protected].

Here are five tips to follow prior to your first college entrance exam registration!

1. Don’t Take A Real ACT Or SAT To Establish A Baseline Score.

Rather than take a real exam to get baseline results, start by taking a practice test with Flying Colors. We offer full-length proctored practice exams EVERY weekend, and you’ll receive scores in a few days…not in a few weeks.

Our practice exams are real tests administered under the same time constraints as an actual test day, and results are comparable to the real test environment. Practice testing lets your student maximize every testing opportunity rather than “wasting” a real test for data we can help you obtain.

When the actual exam registration time comes around, your student will be prepared and confident. Click here to register for a practice exam with us.

2. Summertime Is Ideal Test Prep Time.

Most students – whether rising juniors or seniors – benefit from doing exam prep during the summer, when their schedules are less busy. Shifting some of the test prep work they will do during the school year to the summer can help to ease a busy student’s schedule in the fall.

3. Test Scores Can Yield Scholarships. Wait, What?

It’s true. Not all, but many outstanding colleges and universities offer merit scholarships. Competitive test scores and GPAs can help students secure these coveted scholarships.

4. Double The Odds.

If your student has completed exam registration for an in-school ACT in March or April, we recommend signing your student up for the April national ACT as well. Especially if they are doing test prep, this gives your student the opportunity to get two shots at reaching their best score potential.

Because over 400 schools now superscore the ACT, students will also have twice the number of chances to improve their individual section scores and boost their superscore.

5. Taking The July ACT? Sign Up EARLY.

If your student intends to take the July ACT, do not wait until the June deadline for your exam registration. Relatively few testing sites offer the July ACT, so the Twin Cities sites typically reach capacity quickly. In fact, in recent years, students have had to travel to Duluth, Rochester, Hudson and northern Iowa to find a place with open seats in July.

Ready To Prep For Your Exam? Get Started With Flying Colors.

As Minnesota’s leader in college entrance exam test preparation and tutoring, Flying Colors is ready to help your student shine to their full potential.  To get in touch with us, please email [email protected], and we’ll follow up within one day.

Dartmouth To (Again) Require ACT And SAT Scores For The Enrolling Class Of 2025

Do test scores predict college success? New data from Dartmouth College says “yes”. Therefore, on February 5th, 2024, Dartmouth announced it would once again require applicants to submit ACT or SAT test scores beginning with the enrolling class of 2025.

Following The Data

In doing so, Dartmouth joins MIT, Georgetown, Purdue and several other schools that have reinstated testing requirements. But Dartmouth isn’t just following a trend. They’re following their data.

Last summer, the new president of Dartmouth, Sian Beilock, asked a team of professors to do an internal study of the relationship between standardized testing and success in college. According to the New York Times, who reported on the study:

“Test scores were a better predictor than high school grades — or student essays and teacher recommendations — of how well students would fare at Dartmouth.”

Don’t Test Scores Give The Upper Hand To Higher-Income Populations?

Surprisingly, the Dartmouth data suggested that some lower-income students were actually put at a disadvantage with the test optional policy.

Colleges can access applicants’ scores after the admissions process is finished, so the Dartmouth researchers looked at the test scores of students who had not submitted them. What they found was that many lower-income students assumed their scores were not competitive and did not submit them. The truth? The admissions office would have seen their scores as evidence of their ability to overcome a challenge – and succeed at Dartmouth.

Test Score Evaluation Can Be Subjective

So, it turns out something that seems, on face value, to be an objective measure of ability is viewed with a degree of subjectivity and context – at least by some admissions offices.

Dartmouth’s Dean of Admissions, Lee Coffin, indicates that the admissions committee judges an applicant’s environment partly by evaluating his or her test score in relation to average scores at the student’s high school. So, a mid-range score from a student at a lower performing school would, in this case, be treated as a better score than that same mid-range result for a student at a top-tier high school.

Colleges Requiring Test Scores Vs. Test Optional Colleges: What Does It Mean For You?

It is unclear how many schools will follow Dartmouth’s lead and reinstate required reporting, but Flying Colors believes it is important to be aware of new developments regarding testing so that you can prepare accordingly.

Furthermore, given the possibility that scores can be evaluated in context, all high school students should assess how test scores may impact their application portfolio and make informed decisions if they are given the choice to report.

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