There is big news in the world of college admissions and standardized testing!
1) The SAT 'Adversity Score' is dead
So, I was recording a video describing the absurdity of the SAT's new adversity score--
Literally, I was in the middle of this sentence, "...as though something as nuanced and complicated as adversity could be boiled down to a single number..." when one of my staff walked in to inform me that the College Board (makers of the SAT) had decided to abandon the ill-advised adversity score.
There are many steps that we can take to address education inequality in America. The College Board's PR stunt to address education inequality with an oversimplified standardized score was not going to help. That the College Board is abandoning the score is good news for students everywhere.
The adversity score will be replaced with "Landscape." This new tool will allow families to see the same information about their high schools and neighborhoods that colleges see. We applaud this added transparency.
I will have more to say on this topic as Landscape is rolled out this admissions season--
2) In 2020 the July test date for the ACT is coming to California
This is good news for Californians who need this test date.
Two things to keep in mind--
*there is little time to prepare for this exam after the end of the school year. For this reason, September will continue to be the optimum official exam for the majority of students who engage in test preparation during the summer.
*you'll want to register early. There will be significantly fewer testing sites available during the summer, so they will quickly fill up.
3) This year the cut-off for California's national merit semi-finalists is 222
It looks like the cut-off for national merit semi-finalists dropped by a point this year in California. Congrats to our students who made the cut! This is a state-by-state competition, so surviving the cut in a high-population state like CA is a huge achievement!!
As always, our team is here to help if you need:
mock ACT or SAT exams
referrals for a private college counselor
1-on-1 instruction to maximize your ACT or SAT scores