A recent posting on the Washington Post’s blog, The Answer Sheet, suggests that it may not necessarily be in a student’s best interests to participate in to use Score Choice, the process that allows students to choose which SAT or ACT scores to send to colleges.

The reason for this is that while students can choose whether or not to send scores from a specific test date, many colleges actually use the highest score on each section of the test, rather than the best overall score the student received in any one sitting of the test. This means that if a student took the test on multiple test dates, unless he received his highest scores on ALL of the areas of the test on that one date, he would be better off submitting scores from all test dates.

In addition, some of the most competitive colleges actually require all scores to be submitted and do not want applicants to choose not to send specific scores. This means that if a student is not careful, she could be penalized by a college for applying without submitting all of her scores and actually jeopardize her acceptance to the college.

The bottom line is that both students and parents need to carefully research the admissions requirements of the colleges the student is applying to, and be aware of the specific school’s policies regarding Score Choice, and how the test scores will be used.

In a few cases, it may be beneficial to use Score Choice, but in the vast majority of cases it will not. So be careful out there!

A list of the SAT score policies of participating colleges can be found here.

To see the full Washington Post Blog Post, click here.

February 2010 Newsletter

In This Issue:

In The Educational Dilemma in Saudi Arabia, Talal M. Alhammad, a college junior studying at Harvard University, compares the American educational system with the system in place in his native Saudi Arabia.  Mr. Alhammad notes that where the Saudi system emphasizes conformity, and “ineffective memorization,” our American system emphasizes critical thinking.  He is particularly impressed by the emphasis, within the American model, on deep immersion into a subject area and the requirement that students think about the material from a variety of perspectives, even when that means their opinion may be at odds with that of a professor.

Mr. Alhammad’s essay gives us the opportunity to see our own system through the eyes of someone outside our culture. While it is clear that there are many things about the American system of education that need to be improved and/or repaired, it is important to remember that we also do a lot of things right. Our tradition of what Mr. Alhammad calls “the liberal education environment” teaches students to think critically about the world around them and gives them the tools to analyze information independently. Those are two skills whose value cannot be overstated in the increasingly complex world in which our children will be living as they make their own journeys into adulthood.

Sonja Kerr, Esquire

Location:  Center School, 2450 Hamilton Ave., Abington, PA

SecretBuilders is a virtual world for children 5 to 14 years old powered by a web 2.0 community of children, parents, educators, writers, artists and game developers. On SecretBuilders, children will explore virtual lands, undertake quests, play games, maintain a home, nurture a pet, and interact with their friends.

Check out their blog, which contains an article from our newsletter!

A number of colleges, some obscure such as The College of St. Rose in Albany,NY , and others very well known, such as the University of Minnesota, are now sending out direct mail packages offering “no fee” college applications. Not only are the applications without a fee, they are also nearly completely filled out with the potential applicant’s name and other relevant information. Therefore students who are interested in applying need to do little more than sign their name and mail the applications in. Colleges employing this strategy have seen a significant rise in applications.

Why are colleges doing this? And why now? Well, given the current state of the U.S. economy, many colleges are having difficulty getting enough students to apply. In addition, there is increased competition for ranking in the many college guides, including the US News and World Report’s Annual College Rankings. Colleges that have significant increases in the number of applicants can improve their rankings in these publications.

Is this a good thing for students? That is a subject of debate. The direct mail firms that colleges hire to do these types of marketing campaigns stress that this is a way for them to help make students aware of the existence of certain colleges they might not otherwise know about.  In addition, colleges report that this type of marketing campaign has helped them to increase diversity on campus across a number of dimensions, such as geography, gender,  and ethnicity. However some critics argue that this may make it too easy for students to apply to college, thereby reducing the amount of time a student actually spends comparing colleges. Ultimately this could lead to a student applying to a college because it is easy, rather than looking for the best fit.

Time will tell if this is a trend that will last beyond the current economic slump. In the meantime, happy college hunting!

Source:  The New York Times, January 25, 2010

Further Reading: College Confidential, US News and World Report, National Association of College Admissions Counselor

January 2010 A+ Newsletter

A+ Test Prep & Tutoring will be offering a free full-length SAT practice exam on Saturday March 6, 2010 at 10:00 AM.

This free session will provide students exposure to a full-length SAT I Reasoning Test in a genuine testing environment.  The exam will be proctored by A+ Tutors.  Essays will be graded by impartial SAT essay graders and a full question-by-question score analysis will be provided.

The exam is being offered at :

Penn Wynne Library

130 Overbrook Parkway

Wynnewood, PA 19096

This test is offered for free to all high school students, and does not require enrollment in any A+ Test Prep & Tutoring program.

Space is limited.  RSVP by March 1st by calling our Jenkintown office at 215-886-9188!

Coming soon in 2010: our newsletter archive will be migrated to our News Blog.  Keep an eye out for new study strategies, developments in education, findings in learning and teaching methodologies, and more.

Let us know what you want to hear about in our next newsletter!

An article that appeared in the December 15, 2009 issue of the The Chronicle of Higher Education, reports on a new study published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. The study, conducted by four psychologists, Harold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohrer, and Robert Bjork, concludes that there is no evidence to support the commonly held notion that teaching students in their preferred learning styles leads to enhanced learning.

Therefore, according the study’s authors, instructors should not attempt to modify their teaching approach in order to match teaching style to a specific student’s learning style.  However, according to other researchers in the field, the evidence does show that both teaching instructors about different learning styles, and having instructors use a variety of teaching methods catering to different learning styles does contribute to more effective learning outcomes.

Source: Matching Teaching Style to Learning Style May Not Help Students. The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 15, 2009