College Admissions: 5 Reasons Schools Should Offer the Pre-ACT

Monday, May 12, 2014

Cristiana Quinn, GoLocalProv College Admissions Expert

For years, most school districts in New England have dragged their feet on offering the pre-ACT and ACT to students. They have remained in their comfort zone with the PSAT and SAT. However, the time of reckoning has arrived. As the Collegeboard works on developing a new SAT, high schools need to consider what they will do in the fall about offering the PSAT to sophomores. The class of 2017 will be the first students to take the new SAT in 2016. However, the new PSAT will not be available this fall. That means schools are left wondering what to do: administer a PSAT with little relevance to 10th graders, or not offer it until 11th grade. While the debate rages about how to handle the situation, there is a viable alternative that most schools are overlooking: offer the Pre-ACT ASPIRE Test. There are many reasons this makes sense, including:

There are many reasons this makes sense, including:

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• The ACT is accepted by every 4 year college in the U.S., and as of 2012 has become the most popular college entrance exam, surpassing the SAT. Still, many students are not adequately informed about its availability and how it could benefit them.
• The ACT is not changing its test, so students taking Aspire won’t be confused by vastly different formats. The ASPIRE Test correlates directly with the ACT. For 2014, the PSAT will not correlate directly with the new SAT that will be released in 2016.
• Students who later opt to take the ACT will find that it also fulfills the SAT II Subject Test requirements at many colleges.
• Because the ACT assesses 5 content areas (including science reasoning), it can be more helpful in allowing schools to evaluate college readiness in a more comprehensive manner than the present PSAT. Suggested remedies are also included for weak areas.
• Providing ASPIRE in 10th grade, and the new PSAT in 11th grade, will give students in the class of 2017 the opportunity to determine which test is a better fit. This will ultimately result in the best possible positioning for test prep, college acceptances and scholarships.

School districts need to plan now in order to be ready for testing in the fall. Given the present gap between the 2014 PSAT and the 2016 SAT, there is no reason for administrators to drag their feet any longer. Not offering both tests does a disservice to students and families; now is the obvious time to make the move and introduce students to the ACT via the ASPIRE Test.
 

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