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HSPT Review

I was happy to receive the following today:

Hi Kate – I realized I never followed up with you about my daughter Allie Vasquez and her results on the HSPT. She worked with you in the Fall of 2016 to brush up on a few areas in preparation for the HSPT in early December. I’m happy to report that she scored in the 99th percentile, received a scholarship to both O’Connell and St. John’s and was also accepted in the St. John’s De La Salle Scholars program – which she will be attending in the fall!

Thanks so much for all your work with her – not only did it improve her performance on the test, but I believe it gave her more confidence overall in her work as well as her test taking abilities. I suspect we’ll be seeing you again in a few years as she gets ready for her college admissions!

 

All the best,

Karen

karen m. vasquez

2017-05-23T19:00:03-04:00

Summer Test Dates Planned for the SAT and ACT

New SAT and ACT Test Dates

College Board is adding a late August test date to its calendar of tests this year — 2017, but removing the late January test next year.  That will mean seven possible SAT dates: March, May, June, August, October, November, December.   CLICK HERE FOR THE SAT CALENDAR.

ACT has announced that it will add a summer test date for July 14 (tentative) 2018. Currently there are no plans to eliminate a test date, so there will now be seven ACT dates available: February, April, June, July, September, October, December.  CLICK HERE FOR THE ACT CALENDAR.

Not sure whether to prepare for the SAT or ACT?

Come take a 3-hour diagnostic ACT at Inspiring free of charge.  Pick a date that works for you and schedule a free consultation later in the week to discuss the test results and Inspiring’s programs for score improvement.  Don’t see a test date — email Kate at kvs@katedalby.com to request a time.  Seats available most Saturdays and Sundays at 11:00.

2017-02-27T22:53:08-05:00

ACT Essay Scoring Changes

 Last year ACT ran into trouble with its new essay prompt. The released scores were on a 36-point scale and caused much concern in the news because of some discrepancies between anticipated scores and those received. 

This year, ACT returned to the 12-point scale which probably helps obscure the results for some students.  We encourage students to look at the percentiles to see if the essay score is in line with the other test components.

If you are concerned that your essay score is too low, we recommend you get a copy of the essay and review it yourself.  You will need to enlist the help of your school .  ACT says to “check with:

We invite you to forward a copy of your essay for our evaluation. For $50 we will give you our honest assessment of your writing and what you need to do to improve it. Send your essay to aimee@katedalby.com and copy the email to kvs@katedalby.com.  We look forward to helping you present your best self to the college admissions personnel.

2017-04-08T16:59:41-04:00

Are You Taking the ACT with Essay?

 Last year ACT ran into trouble with its new essay prompt. The released scores were on a 36-point scale and caused much concern in the news because of some discrepancies between anticipated scores and those received.

This year, ACT returned to the 12-point scale which probably helps obscure the results for some students.  We encourage students to look at the percentiles to see if the essay score is in line with the other test components.

If you are concerned that your essay score is too low, we recommend you get a copy of the essay and review it yourself.  You will need to enlist the help of your school .  ACT says to “check with:

We invite you to forward a copy of your essay for our evaluation. For $50 we will give you our honest assessment of your writing and what you need to do to improve it. Send your essay to aimee@katedalby.com and copy the email to kvs@katedalby.com.  We look forward to helping you present your best self to the college admissions personnel.

 

2017-04-08T16:56:52-04:00

September 2016 ACT Results

This summer Inspiring Test Preparation held three classes to help students get ready for the ACT.  In July we held a three-week class that covered both ACT and SAT, and in August students chose between a three-week class dedicated to the ACT and a six-week class to prepare for both tests.  Altogether 22 students participated in the classes and we have heard from ten class students so far.  We also provided one-on-one preparation for over twenty students but not all took the September ACT.

Of ten class students providing full scores, we saw an average gain of 3.7 points on the composite with a beginning average of 28 and an ending score of 31.7. (A four point gain in the composite is like a 140 point gain on the new SAT.)

Below is a breakdown of the data.(Updated 10/4/16)
ID CLASS DATE DIAGNOSTIC COMPOSITE BEFORE SEPTEMBER SCORES COMPOSITE SEPT CHANGE
1 ACT/SAT AUG 30E 29M 31RC 27S 29 36E 29M 33RC 30S 32 3
2 ACT AUG 25E 20M 28RC 25S 25 35E 24M 35RC 27S 30 5
3 ACT AUG 29E 25M 30RC 24S 27 35E 27M 33RC 27S 31 4
4 ACT AUG 25E 24M 24$C 30S 31 31E 35M 35RC 24S 34 3
5 ACT/SAT JUNE 28E 31M 30RC 29S 30 36E 34M 32RC 32S 34 4
6 ACT/SAT JULY 21E 32M 22RC 25S 25 30E 35M 24RC 33S 31 6
7 ACT/SAT AUG 26E 32M 30RC 25S 28 35E 34M 30RC 26S 31 3
8 ACT/SAT AUG 29E 29M 34RC 26S 30 36E 33M 35RC 34S 35 5
9 ACT/SAT AUG 23E 24M 27RC 29S 26 29E 27M 33RC 26S 29 3
10 ACT AUG 31E 24M 34RC 26S 29 34E 27M 31RC 27S 30 1
DIAGNOSTIC AVE 28 SEPTEMBER AVE 31.7 3.7 pt gain
RANGE 25-31 29-35 1-6 pts
2017-04-07T19:30:41-04:00