Empowering Underrepresented Students to Succeed on the SAT/ACT

Jay Rosner, Executive Director

The Princeton Review Foundation

NPEA Conference

April 11, 2013Copyright © 2013 Jay Rosner

Princeton Review Foundation,a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit

• Mission: Fairness Advocacy & URM Services

• National Partnerships – HBCUs, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Cherokee Nation Foundation, KIPP Schools, NABC, etc.

• Presentations & workshops: students, admissions staffs & high school faculty

• Test critic for 20+ years, ETS litigation

Alignment: What Should a “College Prep” High School Provide for Students?

4-Year College Admissions:

Selective App. “Weights”Typical “College Prep”

High School Expenditures

Why Do URMs Underperform on the SAT/ACT?

• They’re rigged. See Chapter 6 in SAT Wars: in short, test questions are selected to favor high scorers (don’t tell students).

• Additional factors include lack of testing (think cultural) capital, no test prep, disengagement, stereotype threat, etc.

• Everyone (limits) can improve their score• Vocabulary quiz: hagwon? juku?

Wealthiest Blacks’ Average SAT Scores Are Lower Than Those of the Poorest Whites

Source: National Data, 2001 California SAT Report, The College Board

For Students: Jay’s Opinion ofWhat The SAT Measures

• How intelligent you are? No.

• How well you’ll do in college? No. (only helps somewhat in FY GPA)

• How good you are on SAT? YES !

If you have a high test score, it just means that you’re good at the test. And, that’s all.

• Can you improve your score?YES! Here’s what you need to do …

Quantity: How Much ACT (SAT) Prep Is Recommended by Jay?

ACT/SAT prep minimums (course or self-prep):• 1.5 hours per day, of high-quality practice• 5-6 days per week• for 5-6 weeks, right up to the ACT• 3-4 practice tests, not more than one per week

Less, lower-than-your-best score? More, burn out?

Did you do this? Rehearsal? Too much? It’s –

½ season of a high school sport

How Many Times?

• Question: How many times should you plan to take the official SAT or ACT?

ONCE. Prep intensively, and get it right the first time.

But have a fall-back in mind, if you need it.• Both tests? Take a practice test of each (PSAT).• When, ideally, should most students take the

official ACT or SAT? Spring as a junior, after prep! Why? Anyone not advised to do this? Seniors – get to it!

A Healthy Approach

With students taking too many bubble tests:• Importance of SAT/ACT (not intelligence)• Different skills, timing, strategies• Target test date• Prep plan and/or materials• Practice tests• What can high school faculty do?

Suggestions to Assist URM Students

Helping Students Prepare (easiest to hardest):•First, everybody does the PSAT (and PLAN)!•Easy & cheap is a full practice ACT/SAT•Test prep library books (online caution)•Encourage students to do some ACT/SAT prep in study groups•A course taught by teachers? (Taking test?)

Strategy: an energized SAT/ACT environmentTactics:• SAT/ACT prep • Faculty & staff awareness-to-support • Test as an adversary, faculty & staff are allies

(Boston Arts Academy)• Sports analogies for performance – score

points, stay in the game• Not cheerleading, but rising to the challenge• “Special” technique – faculty taking test

Leveraging Faculty to Motivate Kids

• We’re a team, test as adversary, cohort effect• Take control of the test – do the questions in

the order best for you• Example: 2-pass (or 3-pass) reading comp.

technique• Skipping questions (come back if time)• Note – not available on CATs (GRE)

Tactics for Empowering Kids

SAT/ACT Free Throw Analogy

• SAT : Academia :: FT Shooting : Basketball• SAT & FT Shooting: contrived, artificial, static,

solitary, PREDICTABLE, limited context & skills w/mechanistic approach, confidence & psych factors

• Academia & Basketball: complex, dynamic, broad open-ended skill set w/creativity, messy like life

• Improvement: Virtually everyone (Shaq?) can improve with practice and some expert instruction

• Moral - SAT and academia are significantly disconnected; different skills are involved (Shaq!)