SAT versus ACT, a closer look.

I have blogged about this topic before but now that the time is coming for C16 to really start prepping, which test will she take, if any?  

I am not a fan of standardized testing.  Not because my kids do not test well because they score in the high 90s in every subject in past testing but because some people do not test well for all kinds of reasons.  I just do not feel standardized testing is a good predictor of academic knowledge and the concept of multiple choice is outdated in my opinion.  

Lets figure this out.  

So you have your SAT and your ACT.  The SAT is to assess (aptitude) reasoning ability, and the ACT is focused more on knowledge, yada yada yada.

Do college admission boards prefer one test over the other?  The short answer is NO!  According to the research, both tests are viewed equally.  The SAT was the top dog of testing but not any more.  In 2014, around 1.7 million students to the SAT and around 1.8 million took the ACT.  You can read more about that here in this article by The Washington Post.  The class of 2015 included 1.5 million SAT test-takers and 1.9 million who took the ACT.  You can read all about that here from again, The Washington Post.

Another surprise is that some colleges do not require you take either.  What the what?  Here is a comprehensive list of colleges that do not require the SAT or the ACT to get in including Wake Forest University, Bowdoin College, and Wesleyan University.

So now what?  Still can't decide?  A little more info:

Image link.

SAT:
~The SAT strongly emphasizes vocabulary.
~No science section.
~Mandatory writing section.
~This test is broken up into 10 sections going back and fort between topics.
~College recruiters are looking at how you did on each section of the SAT.

ACT: Achievement test.
~Science section.
~Very straight forward.
~The ACT writing section is optional unless requested by the college.
~More advanced math topics including trig.
~Broken into 4 sections with no going back and forth between topics.
~College recruiters look at the big picture on the ACT scores (composite score).  The good thing about that is if you are a little weaker in one area than another, it will not effect your overall score negatively.
~Does not cost as much as the SAT.

Still cannot decide?  Try this.  Grokit has a free five minute quiz that can help you decide which test is for you.

Help for the SAT here.
My PSAT/SAT Pinterest board.
Sample SAT.
SAT

Help for the ACT here.
My ACT Pinterest board.
Sample ACT. PDF
ACT

Happy testing!

Help! My child is in high school now what?????

ACT                                               PSAT                                                                      COMPASS


                     SAT                                                           CLEP
                         
                                                      MNSQT
PLAN    
                                                                                         AP

                                SAT II

As if the task of homeschooling your child all the way through high school isn't scary enough, you now have to decipher what all of those fancy abbreviations mean.  Even for the most OCD veteran home-schoolers, all of those little letters can cause a great amount of anxiety and maybe even PTSD.  LOL!

Which test does your child need?  When should your child take the test?  Can they take it again if they did not do so well?  And what exactly is an SAT or  an ACT?

I will try to break this down with the tests that most of our children will be taking, the PSAT, SAT, and/or the ACT.  These are on our radar for the next couple of years.

What the heck is the difference between achievement and aptitude?  Well, aptitude is a test regarding your reasoning and verbal skills.  It actually has nothing to do with what you may or may not have learned in school.  There is really no good way to study for this type of test.  An achievement test is a test designed to test you on what you have learned in school.  I know???

The ACT test is a test for college readiness and career planning tool.  The ACT is an aptitude test.
You can read more about the ACT here.

The PSAT test is to provide practice for the SAT.
You can read more about the PSAT here.

The SAT test is another standardized test for college admissions.  Another test designed for college readiness and help chart out a career plan.  The SAT is an achievement test.
You can read more about the SAT here.

These are the general consensus that I came up with during my extension search on this topic.

In 9th, relax.  Just focus on learning and developing good time management skills.

In 10th, keep the focus on academics but try and prepare for taking the SAT or ACT.  You can find practice tests here at The Princeton Review practice tests, free..  They are free, and they do not go on your record.

In 11th, this is generally when the PSAT/SAT/ACT is taken.  This way, there is enough time to retake the test for a better score in 12th grade.

In 12th, plan to retake or take the SAT or ACT for a final result.

This is a lot of information to absorb, and I have already taken all of those but that was about a million years ago.  I will leave you with more links to go through because I need an NAP at this moment.  Good luck!

Here are a few of the best high school homeschooling blogs anywhere.  These ladies also keep a lot of us afloat with all of their creativity and willingness to share ideas.
Heather W-blogshewrote
Kendra-Aussie pumpkin patch
Jimmie-jimmie'scollage
Jeanine Fulbright

My Pinterest page
A to Z college profiles
SAT college board
another link for when to take...
what is a good SAT score?
what is a good ACT score?
PSAT Pinterest
SAT Pinterest
ACT Pinterest

ACT help.......

More helpful ACT links.

ACT science
ACT strategies and tips
ACT math prep
More ACT tips and tricks

Kid #2 heading to the ACT........

I just do not know where the time goes.  C18 is in college and A16 is getting ready to take the ACT.  I am just posting a few more resources for test prep.  You can find other blog posts here for resources that C18 used.





~ACT official website.

~So I found these great online flashcards at Union Test Prep.

~Hit the jackpot here at Power Score Test Preparations.  They have four ACT practice tests with answers in PDF format.

~Prep Scholar math.

~Best ACT prep.

~Free Test Online.

~Great math review videos can be found here at Mometrix Preparation.

Taking a minute

Originally, I was going to publish a blog post about stress and the holidays.  I know I cannot be the only one who feels stressed out and worn out from Thanksgiving until the new year.  But instead of complaining about all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and other mundane tasks that have to be performed so that everything is "Perfect," I want to say how grateful I am that these issues are my biggest problems at the moment.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that there was a horrible shooting in an elementary school in Connecticut today.  Such a senseless act of rage and violence.  Why? Why does this keep happening?  I cannot even image the pain and suffering that the families must be going through.  Such a tragic event.  They send their children off to school and they never come home again.  How is this acceptable?  I could never handle this, not ever!  I truly believe that the this devil of a man who created this catastrophe got off too easily by committing suicide.

Parents will have to plan funerals now instead of enjoying Christmas and holiday break with their families and  I am sure that the survivors and witnesses will never be able to get this out of their minds.  How do you make a 5-year-old understand such a despicable act?  This is certainly going to be one of those life changing moments for all of us.

This unforgivable tragedy has reminded me of something very important that I think we all can be accused of doing.   STOP WHINING AND COMPLAINING ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!  If your biggest problems are that you ran out of milk, you had to wait in line at the store,  or someone squeezed the toothpaste in the middle, STOP! Please!  In the grand scheme of things NONE OF THESE THINGS MATTER! SERIOUSLY!  I know I am guilty of all of those.  I know I complain a lot about things that are simply not important!!!

A tragedy like this one also makes you step back and look at your own family.  Do they know you love them?  Do they know that they mean the world to you?  I think now would be an excellent opportunity to let them know and to show them every day how much they mean to you.  Be grateful for your family, all of your family!!  Because at the end of the day, family is really all you need.

To my family, I love all of you, and I am grateful for all of you!!!  

To the families involved.  My deepest sympathies go out to all who were involved in this devastating event.  I know there are no words that can really help get you through this.  

You can read more here.

CNN video coverage.

If you missed President Obama's speech, you can watch it here.

ACT....yeah you know me............

                                          Great ACT online practice tests.

Need help for ACT and SAT essay test prep? No worries!

CurrClick has you covered with this fantastic live class.  Click here for the link.



Class description.
Anxious about the essay portion of the ACT or the 2015 SAT test? Fear not! This class will help you understand the secrets and techniques the test evaluators are looking for. 

We'll examine the differences between the two essay tests, prepare you to write an effective essay, look at various scored sample essays, and the evaluation rubrics for each essay.

Scope and Sequence: 

• Differences and similarities in essay tests and what evaluators are looking for in each type.
• Organizing your thoughts in response to the prompt.
• Developing a strong thesis response statement and supporting it with various kinds of details.
• Using strong writing techniques through varied sentence structure, active voice, transistion words.
• Closing the essay in a strong manner
• Examining various sample essays for each test and their scores

* The students will have a homework essay to complete at the end of the course using these techniques and timing themselves within the given test times. The essay needs to be submitted to the teacher within 2 weeks of the conclusion of the last session in order to receive feedback from the instructor.

This class meets on Thursdays, starting September 10th through September 24th at 1:00 pm CST for 60 minutes (3 sessions)

*Pre-requisite - The student should already know how to write a basic persuasive paper. This class builds on that knowledge.

Homeschooling Q&A........

I am going to take a minute and answer a few questions for the homeschooling community that have been submitted as comments on various post through out the blog, and this post specifically about graduation.  I had to disable the comments for public publishing for a number of reasons but I do read them all and comment back if I know who you are.

Anyhoo, my recent post about graduation.  The question was if you homeschool year round but the homeschool groups have graduation in May like traditional school, how does it play out.  So this is a good question.  We homeschool year round because it just makes more sense.  When kids are out of school for three months straight, their brains start to die plus in GA, it is 99 degrees all summer long so we tend to stay in during the hottest parts of the day so why not do school work?  Plus it allows for more frequent breaks, taking a break if you are sick or they are sick, being off on your birthday, moving, vacation, being random, and just free time.  For example, both my girls love to be in movies, and GA is the place to be for that!  Recently, they have both been filming two different movies for months including several overnight shoots which leaves no time for anything but sleeping and eating, the day shoots really are not school friendly either since they are usually out for over 12 hours.  After they wrap this second movie, it is back to school full blast.  They love participating in the movies and are lucky they can so there is no way I would let a math lesson take that away from them.  Real life experiences are far more educational than anything a book can teach.

So we homeschool from August to August every year.  Graduation is usually in May, sometimes June.  As I talked about in the other post, public schools will allow a student who has not met all the "graduation" requirements to walk with their class for graduation but will be given a blank, unsigned diploma.  At that point, the student has to meet the requirements over the summer to be able to receive their official, signed diploma.  Same thing with homeschooling.  Your child can participate in as many ceremonies as they like but until they meet the requirements and attendance, they are not officially graduated by the state you live in.  When you file a letter of intent to homeschool, you specify your child's academic calendar and will be held to that calendar accordingly.  We have a few friends who start in September so they can participate in a graduation ceremony but will not be recognized by the state until the attendance has been met.  September is many months away from May and/or June.  

Another person asked how to submit transcripts for college admissions when you have not determined the final grade for the year.  When C17 was filling out her admissions applications, her transcript reflected the fact that she does not have a final grade for the 12th grade year as of yet.  Obviously if the school year has not ended, there is no way to know the final grade.  Her transcript said in progress and had a mid-term grade.  Don't worry too much, she still was accepted to four colleges without final grades on the transcript.  I think colleges are more laid back now because so many kids dual enroll these days.  If you are dual enrolling, most likely your child is in 11th or 12th grade (sometimes 10th grade but this is a little ridiculous to me--dual enrollment is great but its not for child) and have no final high school transcript anyway.  It is also possible that your child has not taken an ACT, a PSAT, or a SAT either but they can still dual enroll and go proceed with college classes.  If your child does not dual enroll and applies to college in the 12th grade, the ACT and/or SAT are mandatory and hold a lot of value.  They pretty much speak to the schools.  

So the bottom line is don't worry.  Your child can be accepted to college without being officially graduated from high school.  

I hope that explains it.  Always check with your state's guidelines about anything you are unsure of. Thanks for the questions.  

Happy homeschooling...........

ACT Blitz: 10 Rules for 2 Extra Points on the ACT

ACT testing is finally here................

Tomorrow is a big day for several high-schoolers we know; C17, my nephew, a handful of friends, and thousands of high-schoolers!

It is the final ACT of the year.


So good luck to all of you students and way to go to the parents that have helped them get this far and are willing to get up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday and drive them to their testing destinations!


Click here for a checklist of what to bring and what not to bring.
Peterson's tips.

more tips.

Great video.

ACT round 2 coming up......

Even though C17 got a great score the first time around, she is going to take this test one more time in February.  Some students take the ACT three or four times before applying to college.  The nice thing about this is that the tests are super-scored so only the highest scores will be used by the colleges.  

Reminder for ACT test-takers 2-4 on Sunday, May 22...........

Don't miss Kaplan's free Online ACT Live Prep on Introduction of ELA concepts.  Check it out here.

Smokey is over ACT prep........

We shoved everything on the table back so C16 could work on ACT prep so Smokey seized the opportunity to take a nap there until she was done.

The Whispers..........

We have recently found a new series called The Whispers on ABC.  It comes on Mondays at 10 p.m. which is perfect for night owls like us.

Here is a short summary from IMDB.
An unseen force is manipulating society's most innocent-our children-to act in favor of its cause. As the kids unwittingly help this unknown enemy, the clock counts down in this suspenseful race to save humanity.

The show also includes a lot of action, adultery, mysterious government handling of  "things," family, illness, death, and countless other topics.

We were hooked after the first episode.

The cast of the show are also fabulous!!!

Milo V.

 They are very active on social media during and after the show.  We were tweeting like crazy last week and every tweet we sent, was responded to.  Of course, I kept tweeting Milo Ventimiglia (show's resident hot guy), and he actually responded several times.

You have to check this new show out tonight at 10 on ABC.  Here you can find the full cast and more about The Whispers.

More here at Buddy TV.

Homeschooling gets better every year.

I found this article in The Drudge Report's archives.  It was written by Dr. Susan Berry and posted on The Drudge Report by Matt Drudge on June 8, 2013.  This entire article can be found on The Drudge Report's website here.  

You can find more from Dr. Susan Berry here and visit The Drudge Reports website here.

As dissatisfaction with the U.S. public school system grows, apparently so has the appeal of homeschooling. Educational researchers, in fact, are expecting a surge in the number of students educated at home by their parents over the next ten years, as more parents reject public schools.

A recent report in Education News states that, since 1999, the number of children who are homeschooled has increased by 75%. Though homeschooled children represent only 4% of all school-age children nationwide, the number of children whose parents choose to educate them at home rather than a traditional academic setting is growing seven times faster than the number of children enrolling in grades K-12 every year.

As homeschooling has become increasingly popular, common myths that have long been associated with the practice of homeschooling have been debunked.

Any concerns about the quality of education children receive by their parents can be put to rest by the consistently high placement of homeschooled students on standardized assessment exams. Data demonstrates that those who are independently educated generally score between the 65th and 89th percentile on these measures, while those in traditional academic settings average at around the 50th percentile. In addition, achievement gaps between sexes, income levels, or ethnicity—all of which have plagued public schools around the country—do not exist in homeschooling environments.

According to the report:

Recent studies laud homeschoolers’ academic success, noting their significantly higher ACT-Composite scores as high schoolers and higher grade point averages as college students. Yet surprisingly, the average expenditure for the education of a homeschooled child, per year, is $500 to $600, compared to an average expenditure of $10,000 per child, per year, for public school students.

The high achievement level of homeschoolers is readily recognized by recruiters from some of the best colleges in the nation. Home-educated children matriculate in colleges and attain a four-year degree at much higher rates than their counterparts from both public and private schools. Schools such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, and Duke Universities all actively recruit homeschoolers.

Similarly, the common myth that homeschoolers “miss out” on so-called “socialization opportunities,” often thought to be a vital aspect of traditional academic settings, has proven to be without merit. According to the National Home Education Research Institute survey, homeschoolers tend to be more socially engaged than their peers and demonstrate “healthy social, psychological, and emotional development, and success into adulthood.”

From the report:

Based on recent data, researchers such as Dr. Brian Ray (NHERI.org) “expect to observe a notable surge in the number of children being homeschooled in the next 5 to 10 years. The rise would be in terms of both absolute numbers and percentage of the K to 12 student population. This increase would be in part because…[1] a large number of those individuals who were being home educated in the 1990’s may begin to homeschool their own school-age children and [2] the continued successes of home-educated students.”

A comment on my blog

I want to send out an apology to my regular blog readers about this blog post.  Sorry to be airing this here but I feel like I did not have a choice but to address this here in the format of a blog post.  Hopefully, the person will get the message, and I will not have to do this again.  

The comment below was left as an anonymous comment on my blog post Back to homeschool planning apparently to "Call me out."

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Back to homeschool planning": 

Now if we could ge atrue mature adult to stop acting like a 14 y/o girl that has lost her very first boyfriend and hs to be a cry baby and getting everyone To feel so sorry for her, the pitty party would be cancelled and we couldn't have that could've
We people. Help this woman to get over her feelings for any past persons in her life. Help her to grow up and be strong. Move on down the road sister. There are manynoppurtunitiesmyou will miss if you keep hanging on the past that did not care for you in the first place. No more pitty party for young lady. You have been called out! 

It is not hard to figure out who left this due to the drunken-type tone, mistakes, juvenile phrases, and illiterate ramblings.  Words misspelled and used in the wrong forms.  I would want to remain anonymous too if this is the best I could do at writing.  

Anyway, I am going to again try to clear things up for the last time so that no one is confused, however, I am not sure why there would be any confusion, I think I have made myself very clear on numerous occasions.  Some people just don't get it.  I am obviously a mature adult given the fact that I am raising two kids by myself and all of the other responsibilities that I have which I complete every day successfully on my own.  I do not cry or try to get people to feel sorry for me, why would I?  I have a far better life now than I ever had.  I should have thrown out the trash a long time ago so to speak.  I am not looking for a pity party because I do not need one, obviously.  I am stronger now than I have ever been, and I would not return to the past for anything that is why I filed for divorce.  To get rid of the toxic environment and people and have a better life for my girls and me which I have successfully done and continue to do.  I am not missing any opportunities for anything but because I have higher standards and I am not the kind of person who goes out trolling around looking for illegal aliens to date, pay my bills, and make me feel like a god.  I am not the kind of person that would be satisfied only seeing my kids a few hours a week.  I am not the kind of person that would do things that embarrass and humiliate my kids.   I am not the kind of person that lies about everything.  I believe the real issue here is that sometimes people mess up in big ways and they can never repair the damage so they deflect it back to another person or situation.  This kind of person sees what they lost and knows what a big mistake they have made but also knows that they will never get it back again no matter what so they try to act out and be difficult and they like to pretend that the outcome is their choice even when it is not.  I do not have time for games-I have a very busy life and I am not interested in going back to the past for any length of time.  I am just very grateful that I got out in time to have a better opportunity for me and my girls.  

In the future, anonymous, either do not comment on my blog or comment as yourself unless you are too much of a coward to do so. Also, you really have no business reading anything that I blog about anyway.  Why don't you get a life and stay out of mine completely!   

Most view blog post

There were 77 page views in one day for my blog post on the big surprise.  I guess everyone loves a baby. Whether  it is an unexpected baby, a fuzzy baby, the kind of baby with a  face that only a mother could love.  And just look at those big ears!  Forget about it.  No matter why, babies make people act different. It is a good thing and sort of signals a new beginning.  A fresh chance.  I could certainly use a new beginning about now so I think I will try to find one.  Wish me luck!

Poor guy, he has no idea she still has 3 hours to go on the ACT prep.....

Are your kids a reflection of your parenting abilities.....

I read an article in a psychology journal which got me thinking.

Eye color, hair color, left-handedness, drug addiction, dimples, mental disorders, and color blindness are all things you can inherit from your parents but you can also inherit their cycles of dysfunction as well.

So lets say if a child suffers abuse as a child, they are likely to be abusive to their children as well or other children.

What other situations do parents pass down that are repeated by their children? Infidelity, enabling, and abandonment just to name a few.

Picture this, suppose your father had two kids at some point in time.  He decides that is not the life he wants and dumps those kids and goes off to be with someone else and has additional kids completely neglecting the two kids he already has.  That is a disgusting cycle that can repeat itself.

Or what if your mother's mother enabled one of your siblings so much so that said sibling lived with their mom their entire life and now you also have adult children living with you because, again, the cycle is being repeated.

If you act like a bully, your child might too.  If you are violent, your child could be violent too.

When you are a parent, you have to realize that your kids are watching what you do and will likely repeat behaviors especially from the same sex parent.  It is unfortunate for some kids but there is not much you can do about it except ask yourself if you would want your child to be like you and go from there.

“Instead of treating your child like how you were treated. Treat them with the same love and attention you wanted from your parents while growing up." -- Jonathan Anthony Burkett

For my daughter on her sixteenth birthday.

Tomorrow, you will be 16 years old, and I still cannot believe it!  Time has gone so fast from the day I brought you home from the hospital until now.

I think it would be impossible for me to describe how much you mean to me.  You have a very special place in my heart.  Sometimes when I look at you now, I wonder where is my little girl.  You have grown up so fast, and I am so proud of who you are and the person you are growing to be.

I have a few things I want you to know as you continue to grow and venture out on your own more.

~You have to enjoy the innocence of childhood.  You only get one chance to be a child.

~Being smart is the new cool, and you are one of the smartest, coolest people I know.

~You do not have to know what you want to be when you grow up, just be who you are today.

~You are you so accept yourself for who you are and embrace that.

~You are one-of-a-kind and that is why you are so special.

~Always have confidence in yourself.

~Letting go and giving up are not the same things.

~When you find something you love to do, do it!

~Act from a place of kindness and compassion.

~Blasting music really can make the day better.

~Credit cards are not going to get you anywhere but behind.

~Spending time with you reminds me how special you are.

~You are a fantastic example of what a 16-year-old girl should be.

~Please learn this, you may hear that diamonds are a girl's best friend but let me tell you, a diamond is not your best friend unless you buy it for yourself!

~Please do not ever let anyone consider you their property and never depend 100% on anyone else.  Make your own money and your own rules.  A broken heart will hurt more than a broken bone but you get to decide if the break makes your heart stronger or weaker.

Happy birthday to my sweet daughter.  I am so grateful for you every day.  I wish you all the best because you deserve nothing less than the best.  I love you, mom.