Kaplan test prep survey: among parents of college applicants, 43% say
their child is taking both the sat® and the act®
New york--(business wire)--a kaplan survey of parents of college applicants shows that 43% say their child plans to take both the sat and the act.* the most cited reason? their child wants to see which test earns them the higher score and send that score to schools. another frequently-cited response: their child “plans on applying to schools in different states and i think schools in different geographies prefer one over the other.” historically, the new york city roots of the sat administrator and the iowa city, ia roots of the act administrator drove public perception that schools on the east coast preferred the sat while schools in the midwest preferred the act -- a misconception today, as all schools nationwide accept both tests equally. “we recognize that motivated students are always seeking a competitive edge in the college admissions process, so it’s not surprising that so many are taking both tests,” said michael boothroyd, executive director of college admissions programs, kaplan test prep. “by senior year, most factors in a student’s college application are fairly well established -- their grades, their coursework, their history of extracurricular activities. sat and act performance is the last major piece of the college application that students can influence at this stage of the process, and we fully support their wanting to put their best foot forward.” “preparing for the tests will help reduce the anxiety of test day, especially as the new sat will not be easier,” said boothroyd. “but the new sat will also be much more similar to the act in many ways, so taking both tests may be less onerous than it has been in years past.” to help students get a feel for both tests, kaplan test prep will hold its free national practice day on saturday, november 14 and sunday, november 15 at locations around the country as well as live, online. thousands of students have already registered for the event, which will feature a test with realistic practice questions for both the act and the new sat, which debuts in march 2016. in addition to the free practice, each participant will receive a personalized detailed performance analysis. this will give students an idea of which exam they should prep for and take. students who choose to take the practice test online will receive detailed score reports of their performance immediately following the practice test. online registrants will also be able to take the practice test on saturday, november 7 and sunday, november 8. differences between the new sat and the act include: length: the new sat is 3 hours and 50 minutes long (with optional essay), while the act is 3 hours and 35 minutes long (with optional essay). sections: the new sat has evidence-based reading, writing, math without a calculator, and math with a calculator sections, plus an optional essay. the act has english, math, reading, and science sections, plus an optional essay. scoring: the new sat is scored on a 1600 scale, while the act is scored on a 1-36 scale. neither test penalizes students for wrong answers. to register for kaplan’s free national practice event or for more information, please call 1-800-kaptest or visit www.kaptest.com/satvsact. *from two kaplan e-surveys conducted in may 2015 and october 2015; total number of respondents was 1,083. sat® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the college board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this product. act® is a registered trademark of act, inc, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this product. about kaplan test prep kaplan test prep (www.kaptest.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. established in 1938, kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. with a comprehensive menu of online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital products, kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services. additionally, kaplan operates new economy skills training (nest) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire. note to editors: kaplan is a subsidiary of the graham holdings company (nyse: ghc)
