The ACT

ACT

American College Testing
www.actstudent.org

PURPOSE

The purpose of the ACT is to determine a student’s proficiency on a national scale. ACT scores are required by most colleges and universities for admission and some also require the optional Writing portion of the test which consists of an essay. The ACT includes tests (35-50 minutes each) for English, math, reading, and science. Skills measured include problem solving, drawing conclusions, and interpreting charts and graphs

SCORES

The ACT scale is 1-36. Check the websites of possible colleges and universities for specific admissions requirements concerning ACT scores. Like it or not, most college admissions (and many scholarships) do rely heavily on ACT scores. For a homeschooled student to be competitive in the college and scholarship application process, the ACT should be taken repeatedly in order to earn the highest score possible. The highest ACT score earned should then be listed on your student's high school transcript. The more objective test scores that a homeschooled student can submit when applying to colleges and for scholarships, the better, including the ACT, PSAT, SAT, and SAT Subject Tests. These test scores also serve to objectively confirm the GPA listed on the student's transcript. Since many colleges and universities now use the online Common Application for admissions, the maintaining of thorough and accurate records during high school will help you to be prepared to complete the application process. Many colleges and universities now have a page devoted to homeschooled students.

WHEN

The ACT is typically taken during the Junior year (11th grade), but a student may begin taking the test earlier for practice. The test may be taken in 12th grade, but keep in mind that the scores need to be reported before college applications are due. Plan to take the ACT more than once in order to obtain the highest score possible. The ACT is offered about five times a year and appears to typically be given on Saturday mornings. Our boys began taking the ACT in 11th grade for a total of 2-3 times each.

REGISTRATION

Registration is completed online and the student's admission ticket is printed out. The admission ticket and a photo ID are required to take the test on test day. Here in KY we had official photo ID's made at the clerk's office where driver's licenses are issued. The ID's look just like driver's licenses except they are in "portrait" format instead of "landscape". Use the Home School Code when registering for the ACT to be acknowledged as a homeschooled student and to have the test results sent directly to your home. 

LOCATION

Check for testing center locations on the ACT website. Our boys took the ACT on the campus of a local public university where students were tested in groups of about 25 students in several classrooms.

COST

The cost to take the ACT is $38.00 ($54.50 with the optional Writing test) and includes score reports sent to four colleges, if desired. Later, when applying for admission to colleges, the best test score earned can then be sent to the colleges of your choice for a fee of $12.00. Check the ACT website for current costs. 

PREP MATERIALS

We used multiple editions of The Real ACT Prep Guide. Each edition has different sets of questions. Using The Real ACT Prep Guide is an excellent way to prepare and our family highly recommends it. After using that book, you may or may not decide to work with additional practice books such as McGraw-Hill's 10 ACT Practice Tests, 1,296 ACT Practice Questions by The Princeton Review, and Kaplan's ACT. Please note that practice books from the same publisher printed in different years (different editions of the same title) may contain the exact same content but have different covers, so purchase practice books from different publishers to assure actually having different sets of questions. We purchased several test prep books at a time from Amazon in order to get free shipping. Test practice books were available from our local public library with a refundable deposit. Many of the questions in the practice books are taken from actual, previous ACT tests and answers are typically provided in the back of the book. Test prep books are not very expensive and proved to be very effective. We saw no need to spend money on the many test prep services available out there. You and your student really can do test prep on your own. Be aware that there are LOTS OF SCAMS involving testing and test prep materials... it is big business, especially since college admissions tests are required and you well know that parents want their students to do well on these tests.

TIPS FOR PREPARING from OUR FAMILY'S EXPERIENCE

The way our family approached test prep is NOT the way you will typically find described in the instructions of test prep books. We believe our approach was much more practical and beneficial. We chose to make test prep a pleasant learning experience, taking all the time needed to answer the questions and learning along the way. Hereafter are the details of what we did and what we suggest.

BEGIN EARLY

Begin taking practice tests early in order to become familiar with the format of the test and the types of questions asked. This will help to significantly reduce nervousness on test day and to help the student to approach the test with confidence.

DAILY UN-TIMED PRACTICE TESTS
Our boys practiced one section (not an entire test) every afternoon "religiously" right after lunch, UN-timed, taking all the time they needed to answer the questions and then they checked and corrected all their errors. Completing just one section each day, UN-timed, eliminates the added pressure of time constraints. Timing a practice test simply adds unnecessary stress to an already difficult task. Take all the time needed on daily practice tests in order to get the correct answers and to build confidence. Increased speed comes naturally with time. Take a TIMED test only occasionally, since timing definitely adds a stress factor. (Note that test prep books typically suggest that you time every single practice session, but we feel that added pressure only stresses and frustrates the students more so that the whole test prep thing becomes a bad experience.)  

LEARN FROM MISTAKES and LEARN NEW TOPICS

After taking each practice test, it is extremely beneficial for the student to correct all the mistakes made and to learn from them. Sometimes a topic would pop up that hadn't been covered yet in our regular high school lessons, so we would take time to research that topic and have a "crash course" on the spot. This is exactly what happened with trigonometry. Since our boys hadn't taken a trig course yet, my husband prepared a trig "crash course" covering all the basics.

THE OPTIONAL WRITING PORTION

The writing portion of the ACT is optional but is also required by many universities. Our boys found it helpful to have a few general themes in mind that could be readily used and adapted for the writing prompts. Students should be mindful of the audience that reads and scores the actual essay written for the test and write content accordingly. 

SUPPLEMENT HIGH SCHOOL COURSES with TEST PREP
Test prep is not just test prep. Since the work a student puts into test prep can be demanding, time consuming, and a very real learning experience in itself, the time devoted to English, reading, math, science, and writing can definitely count towards high school credits as supplemental activities for those subjects. Since so many practice essays were written during our daily test prep practice sessions, they were included in our required high school English courses for credit and the essays included in our boys' writing portfolios. The Writers INC handbook proved to be an extremely useful resource, providing step-by-step instruction and samples for the various types of essays.

THIS APPROACH WORKED FOR US
This was our low-cost, low-stress, full-benefit approach to test prep, but it did require a commitment from each of us to practice regularly. For us, test prep was every afternoon, Monday through Friday, immediately after lunch. Our boys were motivated to work hard and do what was necessary because they realized that higher scores meant better chances at being accepted to top-ranked universities. 

YOU CAN DO THIS!
With the flexibility we have as homeschoolers, we can adequately prepare and equip our students to be confident and competent test-takers. Begin preparing your student for college admissions testing well before high school by utilizing rigorous curriculum and by giving tests regularly (quizzes, chapter tests, unit tests, standardized tests, etc.) to build a strong academic foundation and to approach tests without "freaking out". There is a big difference between "studying to the test" and developing strong test-taking skills. The approach that I explained above worked for us... and hopefully some of these tips will help you and your student, too.

The High School Transcript

The high school transcript is an official document detailing a student's academic record. The transcript includes a list of courses, grades, GPA, credits, and test scores, along with an overview of honors, awards, and extracurricular activities.

An Official Transcript Form

In order to prepare transcripts for our homeschool, the internet was searched extensively and all pertinent information was compiled and organized into a concise two-page document. This form was used successfully in the college admissions process. You are welcome to utilize these blank copies of the form that we used.
High School Transcript Form - pdf
High School Transcript Form - doc

The Transcript as a Planning Tool

A blank transcript form may be used as a handy high school planning tool. Pencil in your student's required and elective courses for each year. Be sure to check state homeschooling requirements and possible college admission requirements.

Maintaining a Transcript

• Maintaining a transcript can be accomplished easily by updating the document on a regular basis. 
• At the end of each quarter or semester during high school, transfer grades from report cards to the transcript (or simply add the grades to the transcript if your homeschool does not use report cards) and assign credits earned.
• Several resume entries relating to a similar activity or topic may be condensed into a single line on the transcript. For example, if on the resume several entries relate to 4-H, they may be condensed into one line on the transcript, such as "2010-2014  4-H Club".
• Record the highest test score obtained for each type of test.
  
• A transcript should not exceed two pages in length; therefore, adjust font sizes, page margins, and table settings as needed.
  
• Keep a transcript for each student with your homeschool's permanent records. 

College and Scholarships

The student's high school transcript is typically required for college admissions and scholarship applications. When applying to some colleges and universities, the Common Application is used. Having an up-to-date transcript will make the task relatively easy to transfer the required information to the online forms.

You Can Do This!

Yes, you can compile an official high school transcript for your homeschooled student. 

• Download and/or print out a blank transcript form.
• Begin editing text and filling it in.
• Update the transcript on a regular basis.
• Customize the transcript according to your needs and preferences.

Sample Transcripts

The Home Scholar
Mary Baldwin College
Home School Incorporated
Eclectic Homeschool Online

Related Links

HSLDA
Donna Young
Oklahoma Homeschool
7 Sisters
Examiner

Extra Tip

Compile an elementary and/or middle school transcript for a younger student as a way to practice for preparing the high school transcript... and to document your student's early academic years as well.

The Student Resume, Part 2

How to Build a Student Resume

It's never too early to begin building your student's resume. Collect information relating to the student's activities and accomplishments by searching through the following:

• calendars
• e-mail messages
• permanent records
• notebooks
• certificates
• trophies
• scrapbooks
• journals
• ticket stubs
• event programs
• photos
• websites
• newspaper clippings

The student resume may not be limited to the high school years. In fact, entries may be included from the elementary and middle school years, especially to document participation, achievement, and excellence at an early age. Soon after you begin compiling your student's resume you will be pleasantly surprised at how many educational opportunities your student has participated in during the homeschool years.

Blank Forms

Many high school student resume forms are available online. I developed the two forms listed below that you are welcome to use, too. Tips are included in italics.
High School Student Resume - pdf
High School Student Resume - doc

Section Tips

Underneath each section of the resume, list entries chronologically by year with the most recent entries listed first.

• Education
  List the name of each school and the years attended. Specify homeschool, umbrella school, private school, public school, college or university, or online program.
  
• Honors and Awards
  Include contests, competitions, winnings, special recognitions, trophies, and placing at qualifying events.
• Organizations
  List local clubs and homeschool support groups, as well as local, state, regional, and national organizations. Include any leadership positions held.
• Extracurricular Activities
  May include field trips, museum and art gallery tours, special events, recitals, competitions, fundraising, and independent projects.
• Employment, Internship, and Apprenticeship
  Include part time jobs, summer jobs, and assisting parents with home based businesses.
• Certification and Training
  List certification and training in areas such as CPR, first aid, and EMT training.
• Contacts
  List teachers, instructors, tutors, mentors, professors, coaches, coordinators, and employers. These key individuals may be asked to write letters of recommendation for the student when needed. 

Entry Wording Tips

Resume entries consist of short phrases rather than complete sentences. Begin entries with action words, concrete nouns, and positive modifiers to precisely describe your student's active involvement and achievements.
 
action words
accomplished, achieved, assisted, attended, coached, completed, conducted, contributed, coordinated, created, developed, demonstrated, designed, directed, discussed, established, evaluated, facilitated, generated, implemented, initiated, instructed, interpreted, improved, launched, led, maintained, managed, mastered, operated, organized, participated, performed, planned, presented, programmed, proposed, provided, scheduled, set up, solved, spoke, supervised, taught, trained, translated, utilized, and won.

concrete nouns and positive modifiers
ability, actively, capacity, competent, consistent, effective, pertinent, proficient, qualified, resourceful, rigorous, significant, substantially, technical, versatile, and vigorous. 

Length

Typically a resume is only one page long, but for homeschooled students in the college and scholarship application process, the more detailed information that can be provided the better since the abundance of information helps to accurately describe, confirm, and validate the student's unique homeschool experiences to the reader. 

Update

Update your student's resume on a regular basis. Make entries as soon as possible so they are not overlooked or forgotten later. Carefully proofread for typos and correct them. Double check all dates and other information for accuracy. When updating a resume file on a computer, save the current file as a new file with the current date. Be sure to back up important files often. Keep a printed copy of the resume with your homeschool's permanent records.

Final Copy

Print final copies to submit with applications on heavy resume paper. A professionally prepared document makes a good impression.

Helpful Links

How to Create Your Resume' by the College Board
Resume's for High School Students by Money-Zine
Student Resume' by My College Calendar
High School Resume' Examples - Job Searching, About.com
Resume' Tips for High School Students - About.com
Your High School Resume' by College Confidential
Top 12 Tips to Perfect your College Application Resume' by Accepted to College
High School Student Resume: Building a winning resume by StudyPoints
Examples of Resume's for High School Students at eHow

 

Extra Tip

When people ask you about what your homeschooled student does, show them a copy of the resume! They will be impressed, with both the student's active involvement and with your detailed record keeping.

The Student Resume, Part 1

Why Should a Homeschooled Student Have a Resume? 

 

Activities and Accomplishments

The student resume is a document listing all of a student's extracurricular activities and accomplishments. Detailed entries listed underneath the various sections provide an overview of who the student is by describing interests, talents, skills, involvement, leadership, special achievements, and demonstrated excellence. For the homeschool parent, the student resume may be seen as a detailed timeline of the student's growth and progress throughout the homeschooling years.

College, Scholarship, and Employment Applications

A student resume is often required when submitting applications for college, scholarships, and employment. This document introduces your student to college admissions officers, scholarship committees, and potential employers. In order to be competitive in the college and scholarship application process, everything a homeschooled student does is relevant and everything should be listed. The Common Application, an online form used by many colleges and universities for the admissions process, requests information that can be easily obtained by referring to the student's resume. By accurately listing every activity and accomplishment, the resume will put the spotlight on your individual student, helping to set him or her apart from the rest.
 

Transcript

The student resume, when regularly updated throughout the homeschooling years, is an extremely useful tool when gathering information to be recorded on the high school transcript. Several resume entries relating to a similar activity or topic may be condensed into a single line on the transcript. 

Interviews

The resume is a handy reference for a student when preparing for interviews for college or employment since the various activities and experiences the student has had may be discussed. 

Related Link
Learning Liftoff - Why High School Students Should Have a Resume

Next: The Student Resume, Part 2... How to Build a Student Resume

Preparing for the PSAT / NMSQT

Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test

National Merit Scholastic Qualifying Test

One of our sons qualified as a National Merit Scholarship Finalist! We are extremely proud of him and commend him for his hard work. Competing for National Merit Scholarships begins with taking the PSAT during the Junior year of high school to qualify. I'll share what we learned about taking the PSAT to help you prepare your students for college admissions testing and scholarships.

Purpose

The purpose of the PSAT is to prepare for later taking the SAT and to determine National Merit Scholarship Program semi-finalists. Some universities require this score for admissions. To qualify for scholarships, students must obtain scores in at least the 97 percentile range. The focus of the PSAT is on critical reading, math problem solving, and writing skills.

When

The PSAT is given once a year in October with registration in mid-September. Test dates for 2013 are Wednesday, October 16 and Saturday, October 19. The test takes about 2-1/2 hours to complete. Scores only count when taken in 11th grade, but students in 10th grade may take the actual test for practice.

Where

Contact the guidance counselor at your local public high school in early September to register and ask for a copy of the Official Student Guide which contains practice tests. Mark your calendar now! Registration is processed through the school, not online. The registration code for homeschool students is determined by the state they live in.

Cost

The cost to take the PSAT in October of 2013 will be $14 per student.

Practice Books

PSAT practice books are available and may be ordered from the College Board website or from Amazon for about $10 to $15 each. The practice books we preferred were from the College Board, Barron’s (especially for math), and Kaplan’s.

Tips

Students should begin taking practice tests during the summer before 10th grade in order to be ready to take the PSAT (for practice) in October. Our boys completed one practice test section each day, UN-timed, in order to become familiar with the test format and the types of questions. An important part of daily practice was to learn from the errors made by looking up and understanding the correct answers. Increased speed came about naturally as they completed more and more UN-timed practice test sections. Imposing time restrictions on every single practice session may frustrate and discourage students. We only gave timed practice tests occasionally. Each timed test did take less time to complete than the previous timed test.  Note: This method is NOT the practice method outlined in the practice books. The method described above is how WE decided to best accomplish daily test practice, which proved to be an effective AND pleasant experience for our boys.

For complete details about the PSAT, visit the College Board website.

National Merit Scholarship Program

About 1.5 million Juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In order to advance from Semifinalist to Finalist standing, a detailed scholarship application was submitted in which we provided information about our son's academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and honors and awards received. In addition, our son maintained an outstanding academic record throughout high school, was endorsed and recommended by a leader in the community, wrote an essay, and earned SAT scores that confirmed his earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The National Merit® Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. For more information about the competition, please visit the National Merit Scholarship Corporation website.

Begin preparing for college admissions tests early!

It is important for college-bound homeschooled high school students to have several objective test scores, such as the PSAT, ACT, SAT, and SAT Subject Tests, obtained outside the home in order to confirm grades earned in the homeschool setting and to be competitive college applicants. Tips about the ACT, SAT, and SAT Subject Tests will be shared in future posts.

Individual Learning Plans

Schedule school subjects and their corresponding resources by downloading and printing out the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) worksheets listed below. This convenient system will help you to successfully plan and customize your child's academic years, as well as to plan purchases of books and other materials.

Individual Learning Plan for Elementary   doc
Individual Learning Plan for Elementary   pdf

Individual Learning Plan for Middle School   doc
Individual Learning Plan for Middle School   pdf

Individual Learning Plan for High School   doc
Individual Learning Plan for High School   pdf 

Assign Required Courses

Referring to your state's homeschooling and high school graduation requirements (see my previous post), assign required courses and electives to be taken each year on an ILP worksheet. Indicate which courses your student is to take each year and cross out any unused blocks. For example, a first-grade student might not take English, so the English block under the "1" would be crossed out.

For high school students, refer to the courses and credits needed to meet high school graduation requirements in your particular state or area, as well as any additional college admissions requirements, and assign each course to an ILP block. Minimum high school graduation requirements may not be sufficient to meet college admissions requirements, so be prepared for your student to take more than the minimum number of required high school courses if planning to attend college.

Scheduling high school courses takes a bit more thought since subjects may be taken all four years, a few years, only one year, one semester, or one quarter. For example, the high school science courses of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics could be taken in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, or with a break in between. Check for course pre-requisites and schedule them on the ILP accordingly. For example, completion of Algebra I may be a pre-requisite for a Chemistry course. When a subject is not taken every year, cross out any unused blocks. For example, Health and PE would probably not be taken all four years of high school, so the years that Health and PE are not taken would be crossed out. 

Add Electives and Family Preferences

Add subjects to the ILP that your child and/or your family find interesting and important to learn about, such as Bible, Vegetable Gardening, Bicycle Maintenance, or Pet Care. In high school, elective courses may focus on college-prep and career-oriented subjects. The ILP worksheet will help you to evenly distribute and appropriately schedule all required and elective courses throughout the homeschooling years. As your student progresses, you will  have the flexibility to make adjustments as needed. 

Include Supplements

Think outside the books! Include an interesting variety of educational games, kits, DVDs, CDs, field trips, websites, projects, and activities to your child's ILP worksheet, too. When the blocks on the ILP worksheet get full, continue with notes on the back of the same page. If using the Word document on the computer, the table cells will expand as needed.

List Resources to Consider

Browsing homeschool catalogs? Shopping online? Going to homeschool conventions? Make a note of specific titles, publishers, item numbers, and prices of resources to consider purchasing for specific courses. Resources may include, but not be limited to, textbooks, workbooks, e-books, audiobooks, online courses, DVD courses, and dual-enrollment classes. Then, when the time comes, you will already have a collection of possible resources to choose from listed for each subject. This list will help to reduce impulse buying and over-spending! In the case that a particular resource doesn’t work out as expected, you will likely have other options already listed on the ILP worksheet. 

You Can Do This!

This simple, thorough, and flexible planning system worked for us during our 12 years of homeschooling. Whether you use the ILP worksheets listed above, create your own, or plan by hand on notebook paper, the method you choose is not as important as the actual planning itself. The long term benefits of first getting the big picture, planning thoughtfully, and then focusing on the details will definitely be worth all your efforts.

Universities Welcome Homeschooled Students

Here's proof that top-ranked universities really do welcome homeschooled students. I explored the web to see what’s expected of homeschool students applying as first-year undergraduates, and what I found was both encouraging and informative. For high-achieving students, begin planning early for high school in order to meet admissions requirements for these elite schools.

Princeton University
Yale University
Columbia University
University of Chicago
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Duke University
University of Pennsylvania
California Institute of Technology
Dartmouth College
Johns Hopkins University
Washington University in St. Louis
Brown University
Rice University
University of Notre Dame
Vanderbilt University
Emory University 

Attending this type of university might not cost as much as you may think! Many of these schools are "need blind", meaning that acceptance to the school does not depend on the family's ability to pay. Basically, if a student is accepted to the university, the family would pay an amount corresponding to demonstrated financial needs; the rest is covered by grants, work-study, and scholarships, without taking out loans. For participating universities, a Net Price Calculator can be found on the College Board website. Check the Financial Aid sections of individual university websites for more information.

Many universities, both public and private, use The Common Application with the Home School Supplement to apply online for admissions. It's a good idea to print out these forms now and review them for future reference.