SAT or ACT

By Deborah Williams

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printMore Sharing Services

Adding to the confusion and anxiety of applying to college is the entrance exam.  A recent post on the Edweek College Bound blog reports, “Some students are opting for the SAT over the ACT because they mistakenly believe that the College Board’s exam is favored by colleges.”
A survey of Kaplan SAT students found that one-third thought that colleges accepted the College Board’s SAT exam results more than the American College Test (ACT).  Both tests help colleges to determine an applicant’s readiness for college, but the SAT is more popular in the eastern United States while the ACT is more popular in the western and southern parts of the country.
That probably explains the primary reason for the regional disparity in America: peer influence.  The survey shows that 24 percent of SAT test-prep participants admitted to taking that exam because their friends were taking it.  Paul Weeks, vice president of client relations for ACT, Inc. confirms this in an email:  “Test-taking patterns and behaviors are regional and can be impacted by different influencers ranging from peers to parents. There are still many myths and misrepresentations out there, but we’re glad to see them diminishing.”
The tide is changing because the ACT has surpassed the SAT in recent years and “is now the most popular college-entrance exam.”  The myth has been dispelled:  “…all four-year U.S. colleges equally accept results of an ACT or SAT exam for consideration in the admissions process.

Surprising Keys to Your Child’s Lucrative Careers By Deborah Williams

Let’s face it: Shuttling children from activity to activity and monitoring homework sessions are exhausting parts of parenting.  It’s no wonder that some parents wonder if they shouldn’t cut out some of it.  New research suggests that perhaps all of this activity is helpful to their child’s future—as long as the child has good math skills!
Harvard Business Review assistant editor Nicole Torres reports the findings of University of California, Santa Barbara researchers compared two groups of white male high school seniors—1972 and 1992—to see the impact of their social and math skills over time.  “The analysis found that while math scores, sports, leadership roles, and college education were all associated with higher earnings over the 1979-1999 period, the trend over time in the earnings premium was strongest among those who were both good at math and engaged in high school sports or leadership activities. In other words, it pays to be a sociable math whiz, more so today than thirty years ago.”
It seems that the social skills that children develop through participation in extracurricular activities help to make them more likable.  These extracurricular activities include “teamwork, communication, and general interaction with others.”  Developing these skills when they are children make it more likely that they will be employed “in an occupation requiring higher levels of responsibility for direction, control and planning.”
Technology may be the reason for the demand for math skills in the workplace; however, employers need workers who can work with others well.  So, parents, make sure that your children have good math skills, and know that your children’s extracurricular activities will most likely benefit them in the workplace.