What do Redesigned SAT Scores Mean?

In March of 2016, the CollegeBoard launched a redesigned SAT test. This test has many changes over the previous version and I’ve written about those previously. Another big change to the SAT is the results and scores that are issued. After a student takes a test, they’ll receive one Total Score, two Section Scores, two Cross-Test Scores, three Test Scores, and seven Subscores. Yeah, it’s complicated.

Let’s start with the Section Scores. These are easy and are what people are used to with the SAT. Evidence Based Reading and Writing (what some used to call verbal) is scored on a scale of 200-800, Math is the same, scored 200-800. What’s your SAT Math Score? I got a 550. Simple, right? The Total Score is just the sum of the two section scores. What’s your SAT Score? Well, I got a 550 in Math and 600 in Evidence Based Reading and Writing, so an 1150. Okay, those are the easy scores and most people are familiar with those.

Now it gets more complicated. Within both the Evidence Based Reading and Writing and Math there are select questions that are designed to not only evaluate a student’s verbal and math skills but also their Analysis of Science and Analysis of History/Social Studies. These special questions pull double duty and cross two areas. Thus two Cross-Test Scores in Science and History/Social Studies are presented on a scale of 10-40.

Next there are Test Scores. These are presented on a scale of 10-40 as well. The Math score here is really the same as the Math Section Score, just on a different scale. However, The Evidence Based Reading and Writing is separated here into Reading and Writing & Language. This lets a student see where they stand just in Reading and just in Writing & Language.

Lastly, we have Subscores. These further break down the Test Scores into little pieces. Math is broken into Problem Solving & Data Analysis, Passport to Advanced Mathematics, and Heart of Algebra.The Evidence Based Reading and Writing is broken into Words in Context, Command of Evidence, Expression of Ideas, and Standard English Conventions. These seven Subscores are presented on a scale of 1-15 and they really do help a student pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses.

It’s worth noting that the SAT also offers an optional essay. The essay scores do not factor into the above scores whatsoever. They are completely separate. The essay score has three components; reading, analysis, and writing. Each component is graded on a scale of 2-8.

It’s yet to be seen how individual colleges and universities will use these various scores or whether they will at all. Whatever the case, these detailed score reports provide more insight into a student’s academic abilities. This level of detail can be a great asset to a student looking to improve weak areas or even one who is trying to find a career field that might be a good fit. This information is going to be there on future SAT score reports. Make sure it’s put to good use.

Don't Force Career Decisions Too Soon: Part 2

Last month I began a discussion on students and choosing a career. Actually, I made the argument that it was okay for a high school student to be pretty hazy in the specifics of the direction they might take towards a career. This month, I want to discuss why I think it is okay for a senior headed off to college to be in the same boat.

        As a student applies to college, they are usually
asked to select a major on their application. Most colleges list undecided as
an option, but I think it’s bad form to select that. I would hope that students
have some inkling of what they might want to do and I think that choosing
undecided can demonstrate a lack of ambition to the college to which the
student is applying. What the student needs to understand, however, is that
checking this box in the fall of their senior year does not necessarily seal
their fate. I mentioned previously that colleges report that as many as 60% of
their sophomores are in different majors than what they applied to. It’s okay to
change and changing is actually more common than sticking to what you applied
to.

        Sometimes this change will happen over the course
of senior year, sometimes it will happen at orientation when it’s time for a
student to choose classes that they realize are going to be over their head.
For other students, the change happens after the student has been on campus and
had the opportunity to take some introductory classes in a given field. To this
point, I want to tell parents that your child might want to take a class in two
completely unrelated fields during their freshman year. If that is the case, it
is very likely one of those classes will be a complete waste in that it doesn’t
end up counting towards the major they end up in. However, if through those "wasted"
classes a student learns they really like or don’t like a particular field of
study, that lesson is immensely valuable.

        Sure, you shelled out a lot of money to learn that
but if it means your child learns in their first semester what path they should
be on, or shouldn't be on, isn’t that money well spent? Isn’t it better to find
that out after one or two semesters rather than 3 years or even a career in an
unfulfilling job? Give your child, the freedom to do a little academic
wandering (not a lot, just a little) during their freshman year.

        With that being said, be aware of too many dual enrollment or AP credits from high school. Both of those programs can be great and I think taking some of them in high school is generally a good idea. However, they do effectively work to chop off the front end of college. If you do too much of that, you chop off that opportunity for academic exploration. You’re expected to hit the ground running, sometimes starting college at junior year, at 18-years-old. I do not believe the vast majority of 18-year-olds just aren’t ready to get serious about majors and careers quite yet.

        Don’t get lost in the dollar signs and college costs at the expense of giving a
student the chance to make an informed choice. Let them make a choice they feel
at peace with and one that comes from their heart. If you do this, you’re
setting your children up to be happy, working people throughout their adult
lives and you can’t put a price on that.

Don't force career decisions too soon

Lately, I’ve started to notice a trend. As I meet with students and parents and we discuss life after high school I often sense that many parents are placing a lot of pressure on their children to identify a career path early in high school. While I believe forward thinking is valuable and students do need to be conscious of that gigantic looming decision, making that decision in the 9th or 10th grade is probably overkill.

When I say this in meetings with parents and children I usually sense some relief on the student’s part and a bit of surprise on the parent’s. So, that tells me this pressure parents place on students might be the cause of a lot of anxiety in students. The fact of that the matter is that leaving home and heading off into the wide world is scary. One’s career is at the forefront of the big wide world so talk of career forces a student to face those fears. However, that is not really my point here.

Instead, I mean to say that I’m not sure a 15-year-old is emotionally equipped to select the career they’ll be doing every day for the rest of their lives. An adolescence is still trying to find themselves as a human being and forcing them to choose a career on top of that, when there are so many over variables still in play, compounds that internal strife.

Colleges and universities tell us that as many as 60% of their sophomores are in a different major than they would they applied to. That means that most college students changed their major between their senior year of high school when they applied to college and their sophomore year of college. That’s okay!

I do think that college majors and careers need to enter a high school student’s thought process from time to time, but constantly badgering a student with questions along the lines of “What are you going to be when you grow up?” are fruitless.  There are more subtle ways to get a student to think about these things. Moreover, parents and students need to start with a mutual understanding that it is okay for these conversations, the external ones and internals ones, to be full of doubt and uneasiness. Part of that comes with the fact that students often don’t fully understand what someone in a given profession truly does on a day to day basis or the education required to get there.

That’s not a call to make your child shadow everyone in town--that’s an ordeal that most teenagers aren’t going to be up for. However, it is an opportunity for a parent to say something like the following. “I’m glad you’re enjoying your world history class so much. You know, one way you could translate a class like that into a career is through anthropology or archeology. There are people who go out and find old things from these old cultures and times you are studying about. Of course, sometimes you might have to spend three months away from your family digging around in the desert for them, but it’s pretty cool if you discover something really big.” Then just leave it at that. If the subject comes back around later, you can add to it then. Or, the issue might be a dead horse not worth beating. The point is to give your child little pieces of information and give them the opportunity to learn and explore about a variety of careers without forcing them down their throat. More importantly, don’t make them choke on the need to make that decision before they even leave high school in the first place. I’ll continue this topic with a discussion more centered on life in college next month.   

College Housing Options

   As seniors finalize their decisions and choose the colleges they'll be attending, an

important component to consider is housing. Gone are the days of freshman being limited to tiny dorms with a bunk bed, two desks, and a roommate they don't meet until they move in. Today's college students are offered a myriad of housing options both on campus and off. Picking the right choice can be maddening.

  Let's start with the on campus options. I should say that I'm a huge proponent of students starting their college experience living on campus. Indeed, many schools require it. The colleges have increasingly used plush dorms as a recruiting tools so those 400 square foot rooms that many parents stayed in their first year in college are rarely built any more and are slowly being replaced but larger, suite-style dorms. These are larger and the bathroom situation is much improved---sinks in room, toilets and shower shared by two to four people instead of an entire floor. The nicest dorms can be hard for freshman to get into, upper classmen usually have first choice. However, these days there are enough options to go around that freshman are seldom completely shut out.

   Most colleges also have some online mechanism now where students can interact as they pair up as roommates. This is different than the old days when they colleges loosely matched two students together and that was that. I'm also a big fan of students matching themselves up with someone they don't know. I think it broadens their perspective and provides for friends beyond their high school and local circle. They'll survive the experience and will be better for it. I promise.

Many students will opt for off-campus housing. Just as the colleges have built more and more elaborate and high end residences, the apartment complexes have followed suit. Fine furnishings, extravagant pools, and other amenities can translate to student living that is significantly more luxurious than what many parents have at home. It is more common for a student to live with a friend or person they already know in an apartment than in a dorm, but the apartments are generally willing to match you with a random person as well. This is particularly true in 3 or 4 bedroom apartments where maybe two people know each other but need someone else to fill out the apartment.

Apartments are often more expensive than dorms and that is the first thing to consider. Another is location. Often, the most opulent apartment complexes are the ones that are farthest away from campus. Parents and students must be realistic about how that can affect a student’s attendance in class. How difficult is it to park on campus? Is public transportation a hassle? What is the commute time? What happens if a the student ends up with one, two, or three hours between classes? It is easy to explain the answers to these questions away but families to need think deeply and honestly about how these problems can be handled on an everyday basis.

Families also need to carefully consider leases. In some cases, if one roommate flakes out and has to leave school, the other roommates are on the hook for that portion of the rent. The same can be true for utilities. There are generally more protections built into a dorm lease so students would be wise to have some understanding of their lease as it relates to roommates before they sign.

What is a Weighted GPA?

A student’s GPA is actually a complicated little number. He or she often has a single number that they consider to be their GPA, but in reality there are significant variations to that number depending on who is looking at it and in what context. The most common variation to a GPA revolves around the concept of weight.

In short, a weighted GPA is a way to look at student’s overall academic performance through the lens of the rigor of their course selection or schedule. It’s a quick way of comparing students against each other with the inclusion of how they’ve challenged themselves. Remember, a GPA in and of itself is sort of like a credit score for students. Just as a credit score is one-stop-shop way of describing the many factors that evaluate a person’s credit, the GPA quickly says how a student performs in the classroom. However, what happens in one classroom can very greatly from another. For example, you can’t really compare a person who successfully pays off a $50 credit card charge at the end of each month with a person who is successfully making a $2000 mortgage each month. Both are being financially responsible, but the weight of the accomplishment of the person making the mortgage payment is much more significant. In the same way, a student who takes the most basic science curriculum a school offers is not really on par with a student who takes a series of rigorous  AP classes within the science department. The unweighted GPA doesn’t tell us that. If both students make all A’s in their classes, they have the same unweighted GPA. However, if we can assume the AP classes are harder than the regular ones the weighted GPA tells us, “Ah, this student has challenged themselves and performed well in tough classes.”

Here is how weighting works. GPA calculation can vary sometimes from school to school, but the most common practice is to assign a 4 to letter grades of A, a 3 to letter grades of B, a 2 to letter grades of C, and so on. However, weighted courses receive a boost or a bonus. So a weighted A might equal a 5, A B might equal a 4, etc.Sometimes there are different tiers of weighting so maybe a honors class gets a half point and an AP or dual enrollment course gets a full point. Either way, when we compare students by their weighted GPA we are offered more differentiation between them as we have insight into the types of of classes they took.

Weighting is only one form of a GPA. Colleges, one of the most important end users of this number, usually recalculate a GPA with their own standards and their approach to weighting can be different from one another. Discussing that is beyond the scope of what I want to convey here. Nevertheless, it’s important to understand what a weighted GPA is and to have at least a general idea of how they are calculated. It’s an important little number that goes along towards deciding a student’s fate.

FAFSA and the Modern Family

One of the financial aid questions I get more than any other revolves around students from nontraditional families. Nontraditional families come in many different forms. Most commonly, that term means that a child’s biological mother and father are not married and/or do not live in the same household. When that happens it results in various financial circumstances and arrangements. In that case, trying to figure out how to file the FAFSA can be maddening.

The most foundational of rules a nontraditional family should use when completing the FAFSA is that the family should use the financial information from the parent the student spends the most time with. So if a student lives with mom during the week and stays with dad maybe every other weekend, the student will file their FAFSA with mom, without regard to either parent’s income.

What to do when mom or dad are remarried though? Well, the step parent’s income is also going to be factored into the FAFSA. Regardless of how long the biological parent and stepparent have been married, regardless of whether or not the stepparent has legally adopted the child, if the student spends most of the time in the home of the parent who is married to a stepparent the parent and stepparent’s income should be put on the FAFSA. Actually, FAFSA changed their 2014 to include unmarried couples. So, for example, if mom lives with her boyfriend who she is not even married to, FAFSA expects the boyfriend’s income to be reported. All of these rules now apply to same sex relationships too, by the way.

So what if the students doesn’t live with mom or dad? Maybe they live with a grandparent, or uncle, or even a friend. The first thing you have to do here is to look more closely at the student’s situation. Has the student been declared homeless by their school? Are both parents deceased? Is the student a foster child? Have they been fully emancipated? If any of those are the case, the child is considered independent and should file their own FAFSA using their own income. My experience, however, is that these situations are less common. What is a more likely scenario is that living with someone like a grandparent, who is not a parent, is just a better situation for the child. In that case, a parent or both parents are still around and the parent’s income should be used on the FAFSA, even if they don’t see the student a whole lot or provide any support. If the parents are truly deadbeats, the student hasn’t seen them in years, or they flat out refuse to complete the FAFSA--that’s when a student needs to start considering whether or not they should be declared homeless. They can discuss that with their high school officials.

The definition of a family can be complicated. There are endless possibilities and each can create a different set of circumstance when it comes to FAFSA. When in doubt, a student’s best recourse is to discuss their situation with a financial aid officer at the schools they are interested in. That’s what those people are there for and they are financial aid experts. At the end of the day, as a high school counselor, the best advice I can give when questions like any of the above come up is to pick up the phone and call the college.

Testing During Senior Year

Generally, a high school student should do most of their standardized testing during their junior year. In fact, that’s probably the biggest part of the college planning process that should occur during junior year. It’s often a good idea, however, to take one more shot at the SAT or ACT during the earliest available tests of senior year. This is usually September for the ACT and October for SAT.

The next step during the fall of senior year is to apply to the colleges a student is interested in. That most commonly happens in the months of September, October, and November. So, once all those applications are in, it stands to reason that there is no need to continue testing for throughout senior year. That is generally true, but there are a handful of reasons why a senior might want to continue to take standardized tests all the way up to graduation.

The first of these is simply to increase a score for admission purposes. Indeed, often a decision letter from a school will be a deferment that calls for more testing. In this case, the college sending the letter probably likes the student but wishes to see a score or sub-score  (often writing) come in just a little higher. If the college asks you to test again, test again!

This sort of goes hand in hand with the need to hit certain benchmarks. Some schools have minimum scores they need to see before they choose to accept you. You can usually find these scores on a school’s admissions website. If you don’t meet the minimum numbers, you need to keep testing. Others schools, particularly at the community college level, may admit you but will require you to take remediation classes if you don’t meet minimum standards. These are classes you’d have to pay tuition for and they wouldn’t count towards your degree, but you would be required to take them. Thus, it’s generally much cheaper and a more efficient use of time to try to meet the minimum score on a test before you get to college.

To this end, some colleges will use standardized tests for placement. A student with a high math score, for example, might be placed in a higher level math class which essentially accelerates their curriculum. Other colleges might ask a senior to take a SAT Subject Test for placement. Again, always closely follow the instructions and recommendations of the colleges you’re interested in.

Lastly, there are some scholarships that a student may become eligible for if certain scores are made. You need to be aware of the application deadlines of these types of scholarships but many are available through the spring. For example The Bright Futures Scholarship in Florida, where I live, takes scores from seniors all the way up to the June test.

Again, for most seniors there is no need to take a SAT or ACT deep into senior year, i.e. the spring. However, there are some instances when a senior might need to do just that. Taking those tests is never fun and for most students it’s a big relief to know testing is complete, but there might be some big advantages to trying it one more time.