ACT Test Prep: Test Prep as Supplemental Education During Online Distance Learning
We’re all getting used to new “normals” in the wake of societal changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Education is among the areas hardest hit by these changes, and schools and teachers have been forced to make big changes and quickly adapt their everyday practices. Students, themselves, have had to adapt a lot as well. For many students, social distancing and distance learning means lots of extra free time that was meant to be spent on activities, sports, and socializing with friends. So how can students and parents make the most out of this time spent social distancing? This is the perfect time to focus on college test prep.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a lot of uncertainties, anxieties, and questions about the impact on our everyday lives and when things can get back to normal. While we don’t know when, or whether, we will get back to our old normal routines, there are some things that we do know. We know that things will keep moving forward, and this includes education. Students will continue learning, either in classrooms or from their laptops at home. Colleges will keep offering courses, whether or not students are safely allowed on campus. College admissions exams will continue to be administered, whether in large classrooms of students as they have been historically or in completely new ways altogether. Education will keep moving forward, and your student needs to move with it.
What does distance learning look like?
Right now, students across the world are learning digitally from their homes. E-learning is a great tool that can be leveraged to help students learn about an endless number of topics. But what does e-learning look like?
We’re learning that distance learning curriculum and overall plans vary greatly from one school to another and from one teacher to another. Some schools require students to sit in Zoom classrooms where they can see their classmates for several hours each day and collaborate on work together, discussing topics with their teachers and asking questions. Other schools are taking a much more independent route where students rarely meet with their teachers and complete assigned work on their own time and at the instructed pace. Other schools are using a combination of these factors and others. There are really no two distance learning plans that are alike.
One thing that students have in common right now, though, is an empty hole where any extracurriculars and activities outside of school used to occur. Few clubs and groups are able to continue on as scheduled in a social distancing fashion. Sports have been forced to cancel seasons, theater clubs forced to cancel plays and shows, and more. It is sad to see that students are lacking these fun, group environments that are so important particularly during high school. However, it’s extremely possible to make the most of this time without those valuable social environments.
Why focus on college test prep now?
While we can’t help get the track and field season back on track, we do know that it can help students to keep a structured schedule. Many students are not extremely busy with their distance learning course load right now, and that leads to a lot of free time. Time that gets spent in front of screens, binge watching TV shows and browsing social media.
While college test prep may not be the most fun thing in the world, it is a valuable way for students to be spending their free time. We know they’d rather be with their friends and going to their practices, but that just isn’t a reality right now. Why not fill that time with something equally as important?
The fact of the matter is that current high school sophomores and juniors have an atypical opportunity to really devote a lot of time to something new. For some, that means reading books or binge watching TV shows. We’re not saying these are bad things, but if ever there was a time to really focus on bettering test prep skills, this is completely and perfectly it. A time when students aren’t constantly running from one commitment to another. When they aren’t up late finishing the homework that they forgot about. When they don’t have betters options for what to do this weekend or who to hang out with.
This really is a time like we have never experienced. It is the perfect time to devote to learning. For high schoolers, college test prep is a very valuable way to spend this time, as it will lead to real-world rewards. Colleges throughout the United States use college admissions exams scores to help them make important decisions related to not only admissions but also scholarships, course placement, and academic advising. Excelling on these exams takes work, and right now students have the time to put in that work.
What will summer 2020 ACT/SAT tests look like?
We all know that the ACT and SAT exams over the last month or two have just been outright cancelled. As of now, the next SAT is not scheduled until August, and the next ACT tests in June and July. While it’s very plausible that summer exams may be cancelled in a similar fashion to the spring tests, it’s important to prepare and plan for them to actually happen!
We already know that big changes are in store for the ACT starting this fall. Come September, students will have the option to retake individual sections of the test, rather than having to retake the full test each time they want to try again. Additionally, students will have the option to opt for superscoring their ACT scores and choosing whether to complete the exam in paper format or online. These are changes we’ve been looking forward to, and now the ACT is hard at work with new offerings.
Most recently, the ACT has announced their plans to create a new remote proctoring testing option which would allow students to take the ACT online from home. This is not something that will be ready for any exams this summer, but they expect to have a working solution before next winter’s exams.
What does online college test prep look like?
Many students throughout the United States were taking advantage of online tutoring opportunities way before COVID-19 showed its face here. With all of the technical capabilities of the twenty-first century, online tutoring doesn’t have to be much different from in-person tutoring.
Leveraging online classroom software, students and tutors are able to meet virtually and see each other, hear each other, and collaborate on documents all virtually. These online classrooms allow for recording sessions so students can revisit their sessions with their tutors, which can be an asset for students determined to make the most of their tutoring sessions. This is a luxury that probably isn’t typical for in-person learning. Similarly, students and tutors can both write on virtual white boards, mark up documents, and share their screens with one another. In many ways, this technology can be more beneficial than working face-to-face with an educator. It also saves a world of transportation time, and students can learn from the comfort of their own homes.
At The Prepared Student, our online learning consists of a virtual classroom with all of the capabilities mentioned above. Students and tutors meet for regular sessions online, where students will work on practice materials, tutors will assign homework, and homework will be reviewed and discussed together. In short, our online sessions are identical to our in-person sessions from a curriculum standpoint.
If you’re interested in learning more about our ACT and SAT test prep offerings, we’d love to hear from you!
While we can’t tell you if students will be back in classrooms in September, whether football seasons and homecoming dances will happen, or if colleges will open their campus classrooms, we can tell you that time won’t slow down. High school juniors will still become high school seniors in the fall. They will still get an education and be on track to graduate in 2021. They will still apply to colleges, and that means they will still take college admissions exams and complete the entire college application process.
The organizations behind the ACT and SAT tests are hard at work developing new plans and adapting old ones to fit the current public health situation that we’re facing as a world together. Every day, these organizations are publishing new insight into their plans to make sure students have access to standardized exams for this coming summer and fall. That means the tests are coming, and students can take this opportunity to make sure they are as ready as possible when it’s time to test.
Online test prep has proven to be as effective as in-person tutoring in helping students reach their testing goals. We highly encourage students with extra time and drive this spring to spend their social distancing time wisely on ACT and SAT test prep.
Good luck, and happy studying!
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