The History of the ACT Test

The History of the ACT Test SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips How did the ACT get started? And how did it become the test it is today? Read on to learn more about ACT history, its successes and failures, and how things might change for it in the future. Early Days In 1959, an education professor at the University of Iowa named Everett Franklin Lindquist developed the ACT as a competitor for the SAT, which had been around for about 20 years as a mainstream college admissions test. The ACT originally stood for American College Test and wasbased off of the Iowa Tests of Educational Development.The goal for the ACT as an alternative to the SAT was that it wouldn’t just test cognitive reasoning; it would test information actually learned in school.It was the first standardized test to include a science section.It was also more focused on identifying strengths and weaknesses to guide student placement rather than determining cognitive reasoning strength across the board like the SAT. The first ACT was administered to 75,460 students in 1959.The original sections were English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences, with 45 minutes for each section and scores on a scale of 0-36.It gained popularity as a college admissions exam in the central and midwestern US where the SAT had not yet established its dominion.In fact, part of the purpose of the ACT was to provide other colleges and public universities with an admissions exam to use since the SAT was only used by selective institutions in the northeast. By 1972, the number of students taking the ACT had grown to over a million! Changes In 1989, the â€Å"enhanced ACT† was released, bringing us nearly up to speed with the current version of the test that we all know and love. The Natural Sciencesection was replaced with Science Reasoning.This was a move towards de-emphasizing specific scientific knowledge and insteadjust testing core analytical and problem-solving skills. Social Studieswas also replaced with Reading.This was when the Reading section really moved closer to the SAT.The Social Studies section had tested specific information about US History, whereas the new Reading section was only supposed to test pure reading ability and comprehension. There were also some changes to the Math and English sections. In math, trigonometry and pre-algebra were added as topics. In english, the test began to focus less on grammar and more on writing skills like coherent organization of thoughts. Scores from the old test to the new test were not directly comparable. On the new test, average composite scores rose two points, and the range of scores became 1-36 rather than 0-36. After this big change, some minor changes continued to be implemented. In 1996, the ACT redefined its name so the letters no longer stood for anything, and in2005, the ACT added an optional Writing section (a 30 minute essay) so that it could more directly compete with the essay requirement on the SAT. Starting in 2015, the format of the essay was changed slightly. Students are now given 40 minutes to write, and the Writing section is scored out of 36 rather than out of 12. Prompts deal with how students interpret big changes that are going on in the world, opening up the essay to a broader focus than previous prompts that focused on issues specifically related to high school. The ACT has now surpassed the SAT as the most popular college admissions test. Successes and Failures of the ACT The ACT today has many of the same problems as the SAT in terms of the achievement gap between minority/low-income students and white/high-income students.The percent difference between black and white students meeting the ACT’s benchmarks for college readiness across subjects ranges from 35-42%. According to the chart below, the percentage of African American students passing 3 or more ACT benchmarks lingers around 10%, whereas for white students it’s about 50% and for Asian students it’s almost 60%. The ACT, just like the SAT, has had little success in terms of leveling the playing field between races and income levels and creating an objective test. The ACT does seem to have recognized that this battle needs to be fought at a lower level in education.Many students who do poorly on the test are victims of years of subpar learning experiences.ACT Aspire is a system created by the ACT to track students from a young age based on Common Core standards to make sure they are reaching appropriate goals.So far, however, it has not had a very broad reach. The ACT overall does have much more straightforwardness and consistency in its testing model than the SAT, which makes it a better option for many students.Some people might argue that it’s a fairer test, and it's definitely less tricky in a lot of ways. However,it still hasn’t overcome the achievement gap.The ACT may be less entrenched in notions of elitism than the SAT, but it still contributes to the same problematic systems. ACT, Inc.: Non-Profit? It’s tempting to think of the ACT as a lovable underdog that overcame all odds to beat the snobby SAT in the college admissions test market. However,ACT, Inc. has almost as many issues with its supposed non-profit status as the College Board. In 2009, the CEO of ACT, Inc. was compensated over a million dollars.Just like the College Board, ACT, Inc. pays its executives at levels that are much higher than the average for most nonprofits.ACT, Inc. also sells test prep materials for its exams to increase revenue.The goal of the ACT is the same as that of the College Board: get as many people to buy into their tests and programs as possible. The ACT has surpassed the SAT as the most prevalent admissions test, so it has been pretty successful with this goal.Still, it may have to play catch up again after the SAT revamps its test model in 2016.The new SAT is going to be more similar to the ACT (less confusing question phrasing, trigonometry in the math section) so it should be interesting to see which one ends up dominating the market. Overview The ACT was created in 1959 as competition for the SAT.It was supposed to be an achievement test that dealt with content learned in school rather than just cognitive reasoning skills.However, it moved closer to the SAT as time went on, especially when the Science and Reading sections were created in 1989. The ACT has similar problems to the SAT in terms of the achievement gap and its questionable non-profit status.Even though it is often thought of as a fairer and less confusing alternative to the SAT, it’s really a pretty similar test at this point. It’s possible that the release of the new SAT and increased pressure from colleges for a more reliable performance assessment will catalyze changes to the ACT.Hopefully we're getting closer to creating assessments that are both fair to students and reliable as higher education standards. What's Next? Wondering whether you should take the ACT over the SAT? Check out these comparison charts to see the differences between them. If you want to try your hand at an ACT practice test, here's a link to some free full tests! You should also take a look at this list of test dates for the upcoming school year so you can start thinking about when to register for the ACT. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

How to Get a Job in Any Field By Humanizing Yourself

How to Get a Job in Any Field By Humanizing Yourself Sometimes the job hunt can feel like a numbers game: the average job search takes 43 days†¦92% of recruiters use social media†¦the average resume gets 6 seconds of attention. And our current obsession with data-driven decisions doesn’t stop there. We’re all walking, talking data points. But even though we’re up against numbers, don’t forget that there’s a human element to resumes: they’re written and read by humans (uh, after they make it through the automated keyword parsing systems, that is). And as such, there’s a huge mental game component to resumes: who’s reading this, and what will make them remember me? How can I present myself as a feeling, thinking, interesting person perfect for the job? Here is your guide on how to get a job by accomplish this.Pre-Game: Psych Yourself UpBefore you even write your resume, it’s important to get yourself into shape for this mental game. It sounds a little goofy, I know, but the more confident and winner-ish you feel going into the job search Olympics, the better you’ll feel about the whole thing. Now, you could start going to bed early and rising at 4:30 a.m. for sunrise jogs across town, but that kind of training isn’t necessary here (unless you’re applying for the actual Olympics). It’s more about adjusting your mindset and getting your plan in order so you can feel good about what you’re sending out.Set up the game.Thinking of your job search as a game is more than just a distraction- it can help you focus more on a successful outcome, believe it or not. It can be as easy as naming your goal, and setting personal rewards for making progress toward that goal (milestones). Maybe you give yourself bonus points along the way for doing well in an interview, or getting a call or email response for a resume you submit online.Think long game, not sudden death.Think of your job search as a long process, with every step and challenge along the way as progress toward an eventual win. If your goal is to find a job within 6 months, don’t get frustrated if your first few promising opportunities don’t pan out. Take it as an extended training exercise, where you get to practice honing your resume and interview skills.Concentrate on the present.You can’t control what happens in the future, and shouldn’t dwell on what happened before. There’s only the present and what you can do in it. So while you can reflect on the past to learn from it, and think about what your goals are in the future, it’s most important to concentrate on your present, and what you need to be doing right now to make sure you make progress.Remember that you have choices.Part of envisioning your job search as a mental game is remembering that as a player, you have options- plays to make, pieces to move. Nobody else is doing that for you. That puts all of the power in your hands to make this job search something that represents you, and your best abilities.It also helps if you feel stuck. If your career goal feels far away because you’re missing something (experience, the right network, etc.), what can you do to change that in the short term? There could be many ways to get to your goal, if you keep your thinking flexible. You can take a class to get more expertise. You could start trying to link up with movers and shakers on social media, or look for special networking events in your industry. Waiting around for things to happen to you is rarely a winning strategy.Game Time: Revamping Your ResumeIt’s time to play offense in the mental game, and that means working with your resume itself and prepping your application package. Here are 7 strategies you can use to try to reach the real person on the other end (recruiter, HR professional, hiring manager).Find a teammate.As you get started tailoring your resume for a particular job opening, try to network with so meone already at the company where you’re applying. Not in, like, a creepy and ingratiating way so you can drop their name in an interview, but in a â€Å"hey, I’m applying to your company’s marketing department and I’d love to have a chat about what it’s like to work there† way.You can also ask this person for feedback on your resume- e.g. does my resume match the company culture? It may not be a lifelong friendship, but if you find someone willing to be your networking buddy, it can give you good insight into what kind of people this place hires. And if this small request for a few minutes of insight opens the door to a word in the right ear or an introduction, then you definitely owe this person a beverage of their choosing to celebrate this new friendship.Quantity in addition to quality.If you have numbers to back up any point on your resume, use them! For example:Instead of: â€Å"Saved the company money by switching vendors†Try: â€Å"Coordinated a vendor change that saved 8% on office supplies in 2015.†Instead of: â€Å"Mentored new hires†Try: â€Å"Mentored 16-20 new hires per year.†Instead of: â€Å"Organized a fundraiser†Try: â€Å"Spearheaded an event that raised $12,000 from 250 participants†Don’t be afraid to be quirky†¦within reason.There’s not much leeway for jokes within your resume, because you want to present yourself as a genuine, serious candidate. But you can show some of your personality if you include your interests. This can catch the reader’s eye, and help them set you apart in their head as they sift through candidate resumes.For example, if your skills include being a world-class fly fisherperson, add it. If you won your company’s bake-off over 30 other people (true story!), list it along with any other awards. Little bits like this, used sparingly, can really sparkle in an otherwise straightforward resume- and again, you want to make yourself memorable to the person reading, kind of like a mnemonic device you set off in his or her head. â€Å"The pie guy- I liked him!† could get you to the next level.Don’t use fancy fonts or visual tricks.This one might run counter to the kinds of psychological trickery you might expect†¦after all, you want to stand out, right? Red Comic Sans might be the way to do that. Except it’s not. For one thing, your carefully chosen visual stunnery might be for naught if your resume translates through their system as plain text. Also, you run the real risk of an eye roll and being remembered for the wrong reasons. So you should try to stand out within the system, rather than showing what a rebel you are (design-wise).Follow the Rule of Seven.Jon Youshaei of Forbes recommends adapting the old â€Å"Rule of Seven† marketing policy, where your customer needs to hear your product name or message seven times before it really sinks in. You can use it here to create a kind of subliminal messaging. If you go to the company’s website and read it’s mission statement/About Us section, find buzzwords that are clearly important to the company, and use them (or variations on them) seven times in your resume. It should be done pretty subtly, though†¦you don’t want the reader to feel like he or she’s just reading the same thing over and over.For example, if the company puts a high priority on its status as an innovator, make sure to sprinkle in words like â€Å"changed,† â€Å"disrupted,† â€Å"modernized,† etc. throughout the resume. These kinds of keywords may or may not curry favor with the automated digital reader, but the human one will likely pick up on subtle connections to the company.Align yourself with bigger brands.Name-dropping can be insufferable (as George Clooney and mentioned to me the other day) in everyday conversation, but if you use some big names in your res ume, it can help increase the impressiveness factor. For example, if the last company you worked for won an award or had a major client, try to (artfully) insert that information. â€Å"Arranged sponsorship from Pepsi, Foxwoods, and Toys ‘R Us.†Emphasize what you want them to see.If you’re a little thin on experience but have a ton of skills, use a top-loaded skills-based resume. If you want to emphasize your work with notable companies, put the experience first. If the company has a reputation for hiring grads from schools with good basketball programs, put your UConn education front and center. There’s no single format for a resume- you find the one that works best with what you’re working with and how you want to say it.Whether you do see the job application process as a data exercise (collecting all your professional data) or more of a psychological give-and-take between you and The System, you want to put in as much work as possible to get to y our goal. And either way, you’ll want to have your end zone dance ready for when you win the game, job offer in hand.