20160323 New SAT-PSAT Overview TAGT presentation and ACT 2016 Versions - Griffith.pdf · • New...

Dr. Sheila Griffith

explains . . .

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The ACT

3/28/2016 Knowsys Educational Services, LLC. 2

Major Changes to the ACT

• The 2 biggest changes to the ACT are: – The format of the essay – huge change – Scoring• The addition of sub-scores for STEM and ELA• The introduction of 4 sub-scores for the Essay:

– Ideas and analysis– Development and support– Organization– Language use and conventions


The SAT/PSAT


Major Changes: Scoring on the SAT

• Old SAT Score is 600 – 2400 – Math, Reading, Writing are 200 to 800 each

• New SAT Score is 400 – 1600 – Math and Verbal are 200 to 800 each – Verbal is a combined Reading and Writing Score– Subscores will be provided


Major Changes: Scoring on the PSAT

• Old PSAT Score was 60 – 240 – Math, Reading, Writing are 20 to 80 each

• New PSAT Score is 320-1520 – Math and Verbal are 160-760 each – Verbal is a combined Reading and Writing Score– Note: this change aligns the new PSAT with the

new SAT in terms of scoring.


Major Changes: Scoring on the PSAT

• PSAT versus SAT scores – Knowsys always said, “Add 0 and then lower your

score 20 to 30 points for each section” to compare PSAT and SAT scores.

– That’s what College Board did.


Major Changes: Verbal Sub-Scores

• Sub-scores from Writing:– Expression of Ideas– Standard English Conventions

• Sub-scores from Reading and Writing:– Words in Context – Command of Evidence


Major Changes: Math Sub-Scores

• Heart of Algebra

• Problem Solving and Data Analysis

• Passport to Advanced Math


Major Changes: Cross Test Scores

• Analysis in History/Social Studies• Analysis in Science

• Questions found in all 4 sections of the exam


Major Changes: No Penalty

• Old SAT – 5 choices for each multiple choice– Raw score loses ¼ point for each wrong multiple choice

• New SAT – 4 choices for each multiple choice (ACT has 5 choices)– NO wrong answer penalty– So, now SAT, ACT, and PSAT have no penalty


Major Changes: No Penalty

• Did this make it easier? – Psychologically, yes. But, it means students are

more likely to waste time on questions they should have just skipped.

– Realistically, no. College Board eliminated the most obvious wrong answer (of course).


Major Changes: The Essay

• Old SAT– The Essay is not optional – The Essay score counts for 30% of the Writing

score

• The Essay on the new SAT is optional– The Essay will receive a separate score of

2 – 8 on each of 3 subscores

• The essay is optional for both SAT and ACT.


Major Changes: The Essay• Optional for ACT/College Board does NOT mean

optional for the universities

• Students should either always take the SAT (and ACT) with the Essay

OR

• Research all the schools to which they will be applying to verify that they absolutely will NOT need the essay


Sample Essay Prompts


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The SAT Essay


The ACT Essay


The SAT Essay

READ


The SAT Essay

READ

READ

READ


The ACT Essay


• Old SAT– Read a short blurb. – Respond to a question using – State a position and defend it.

• New SAT– Read a (long) passage that is intentionally “complex”

and “nuanced.”– Analyze and evaluate how the author builds an

argument to persuade an audience.– Support the analysis and evaluation with evidence

from the passage.3/28/2016 Knowsys Educational Services, LLC. 25


• On the New SAT . . . – No one is interested in the student’s perspective– It is NOT an argument or position paper– It is a critique of someone else’s argument

• On the ACT . . . – The student must integrate multiple perspectives – The position must be nuanced


Major Changes: Timing

• PSAT– New PSAT is 2 hours 45 minutes (was 2h10)

• SAT– 3 hours 50 minutes (with essay) (was 3h45)– 3 hours (without essay)

• ACT – 3 hours 35 minutes (with essay) (was 3h25)– 2 hours 55 minutes (without essay)


Major Changes: Longer Sections

• SAT now has 5 longer sections – From 25 to 65 minutes each – Was 10 short sections (from 10 to 25 minutes)


SAT ACTMath 80 minutes

(2 sections)60 minutes

Reading 65 minutes 35 minutes

Grammar 35 minutes 45 minutes

Science --- 35 minutes

Essay 50 minutes 40 minutes

Total 3 hours 50 minutes 3 hours 35 minutes

Major Changes: Longer Sections

• Longer sections mean students have to stay focused longer.

• There is no mental break or opportunity to switch gears.

• Good thing our students are amazing at staying on task for long periods of time.

• Right?


Major Changes: Complexity

• Old SAT vs ACT: ACT = the (old) SAT Plus

• New SAT vs ACT: – Very similar in terms of:• Complexity (depth and range of concepts tested)• Required amount of reading/words on test


Major Changes: Formatting

• Old SAT includes more distinct question types – Reading has passage-based and Sentence Completions– Writing has 3 different formats for grammar

questions, 2 of which are stand-alone sentences

• New SAT simplifies formatting – Math still has multiple choice and Grid Ins– All Reading questions are passage based– All Writing questions are passage based – Passage-based = more reading . . .


Major Changes: Order of Difficulty

• Old SAT– With the exception of Reading Comp, questions

are organized according to Order of Difficulty –• Easy then medium then hard

• New SAT – No Order of Difficulty discernible (like the ACT)– Students cannot use location to anticipate the

difficulty level of the question


New SAT Content Overview: Math

• The Math definitely got more complex (like ACT)

• There is a lot less focus on middle school math . . .

• But that just means there is a higher level application that requires mastery of the middle school math concepts.

• Math is now divided into 4 major categories


Math Categories

1. Heart of Algebra – Pre-Algebra and linear equations/inequalities– SAT & ACT both test this– Only ACT tests counting methods


Math Categories

2. Advanced Algebra– Algebra II . . . quadratics, polynomials, functions,

parabolas, graphing circles– Blue = new to SAT

– Only SAT tests long division of expressions– Only ACT tests logs & matrices


Math Categories

3. Problem Solving & Data Analysis– Descriptive statistics, probability, ratios, rates,

percents, graphs– SAT & ACT both test this – SAT has more graphs– Only SAT tests standard deviation and growth

(linear and exponential)


Math Categories

4. Additional Topics– Geometry & Trigonometry –• Lots more on ACT• Only ACT tests proofs and theorems

– Complex numbers


New SAT: Math Observations

• There are 2 math sections: 25 min and 55 min– 55 min = calculator– 25 min = NO calculator– Do your students currently take timed math tests

with no calculator?

• ACT math: – Only 1 section – Allows the calculator


New SAT: Math Observations

• More Grid Ins– Old SAT: 10/54 (19%)– New SAT: 13/58 (22%)– Students tend to perform significantly worse on

Grid Ins– Is that because we tend to give them multiple

choice so when they see a Grid In they just skip it?

• ACT Math: no grid-ins (all multiple choice)


New SAT: Observations• A lot more graphs . . . all over the test– Graphs show up in math, of course, but there are

lots more than there ever were before– Graphs show up in Writing and Reading too• Reading: at least 2 of the passages have 1 or 2 graphs• Writing: 1 or more graphics in 1 or more passages

– Questions specifically ask students to interpret the graphs

• ACT: has the Science section, which is all complex graphs


New SAT: Observations

• More words . . . all over the test – Every reading question is associated with a passage– Every grammar question is associated with a passage– A lot more math problems are written as “real-world”

word problems (new SAT is about the same as ACT)

• So that’s great news for all your students who love word problems and had no problems with timing on the SAT Reading before



Reading

New SAT: Reading Observations• More words and vocabulary • Reading comp passage sources include

Jane Austin, Emma (1815) disposition, vex, indistinct, nominal

Tina Saey, “Lessons from the Torpid” (2012)gluttony, severe, ailments, venture, rouse, loll

Andrew Carnegie, “Wealth” (1889)harmonious, retainers, deplored, squalor, mode

• ACT: also includes dense passages with tough vocab


New SAT: Reading Observations


• Here’s ha released so far – Disdain– Grim– Divert– Befell– Implicit– Wherewithal– Flamboyant– Resuscitate

• Tougher words . . . • Here’s a sampling releas– Aspect– Mantle– Conjure– Great– Engrossing– Fundamental– Anomaly– Curiosity– Dwindling– Advocate

• Tougher words . . . • Here’s a sampling from 1 passage (572 words) out of 5 from

a single sample SAT test . . . – Extinct– Resignation – Enormous– Biodiversity– Restore– Diminish– Irreversible– Awe– Invoke



• Plus, each passage has 2 specific questions on vocab. (ACT has these questions too)

• That’s 10 out of 52 questions (19%) that say:

In line 43, “great” most nearly means . . . – These questions tend to test the sophisticated

meanings of words with multiple meanings



• So, do students still need to study vocab?

• The real question is WHEN and HOW do you want your students to learn the vocab? – systematically . . . . throughout school . . . via

direct instruction and on-level, challenging reading

– crammed . . . in the few weeks prior to the exam



• Bottom line: students with better vocabulary perform better on the test.



• Don’t think of vocab as a waste of time.

• This vocabulary is the same vocabulary that will be encountered in college-level reading.

• If the goal is college readiness, this level of vocabulary is requisite, not recreational.



• The Reading section gets new question types• Category 1: Information and Ideas– Both SAT and ACT ask Big Picture, detail, and

inference questions– Only SAT asks: • Vocab in context – 2 per passage• Evidence – 2 per passage “Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?”

Blue = New



• Category 2: Rhetoric– Both SAT and ACT ask Purpose – Only SAT asks: • Arguments• Textual structure• Word choice (specifically as it relates to tone)• Point of View

Blue = New



• Category 3: Synthesis– Both SAT and ACT have paired passages

• These are new on the ACT

– Only SAT asks about charts associated with the passages • Samples:

Which statement best summarizes the information in the graph?

According to the graph, which statement is true?

Blue = New


Grammar

New SAT: Grammar Observations


• Grammar ramps up – 45% of the questions from Mechanics

• Punctuation – commas semicolons, colons, apostrophes– ACT has been testing punctuation for years

• Grammar– Subject/Verb agreement– Pronoun/Antecedent agreement– Sentences: Complete? Run-on? Comma splice? Coordination

and subordination– Verb tense, mood, and voice– Modifiers– Parallelism– Comparisons

Blue = New



• SAT and ACT both test frequently confused words

• Think – It’s, its . . . their, there, they’re– Ascent, assent, accent . . . amount, number – Access, excess . . . accept, except . . . less, fewer– Do, due, dew . . . decent, descent, dissent – The Knowsys Homophones list has 300 sets!



• 55% of the questions from Expression of Ideas – Both SAT and ACT test organization, development,

and effective language use• Understanding the grammar AND the tone and flow

– Knowing when a statement should be added or deleted and why

– Recognizing a passage or paragraph to flow better – This is higher level thinking in the context of

grammar.



• Old SAT: – 49 questions in 35 minutes = 43 seconds each– Only 6 questions are passage-based

• New SAT:– 44 questions in 35 minutes = 48 seconds each– ALL 44 questions are passage-based

• ACT– 75 questions in 45 minutes = 36 seconds each– All 75 questions are passage-based


Timing

Major Changes: Timing Wrap-Up

Old SAT New SAT ACTMath 1 min 18 sec/question 1 min 23 sec/question

-More word problems-More complex problems-Higher-level content

1 min/question

Reading 1 min 3 sec/question 1 min 15 sec/question-More words to read-Tougher vocab-Tougher question types

53 sec/question

Grammar 43 sec/question 48 sec/question-More words to read-More complex questions-More big picture questions

36 sec/question


So . . . more time per question . . . right????

Major Changes: Timing Wrap-Up

Old SAT New SAT ACTMath 1 min 18 sec/question 1 min 23 sec/question

-More word problems-More complex problems-Higher-level content

1 min/question

Reading 1 min 3 sec/question 1 min 15 sec/question-More words to read-Tougher vocab-Tougher question types

53 sec/question

Grammar 43 sec/question 48 sec/question-More words to read-More complex questions-More big picture questions

36 sec/question



Overall Impressions

New SAT: Overall Impressions

• The new SAT is more like the ACT now– More sophisticated– Broader range of content– It requires more concentration (longer sections)– More graphs . . .

• In math, reading, and writing• SAT graphs are less complicated and detailed than

the ACT Science graphs



• Words on new SAT and the ACT:– Reading: both have about 3000 words • The equivalent of 12 DS pages.

– Grammar: both have about 2000 words • The equivalent of 8 DS pages.

– Math: more than 50% is word/wordy problems



• Math on the SAT – More multi-step problems (4+ steps)– An entire no-calculator section (20 problems)– More grid-ins (13 = 22% of math) – 0 on ACT– More than 50% word/wordy problems



• SAT Grammar looks like ACT Grammar • Both test punctuation and rhetoric• Both use a passage-based approach• Both require a “big picture” perspective to

answer questions about tone, word choice, structure of the text, etc.



• SAT Reading looks like ACT Reading• Both have 1 set of paired passages• Both of long, complex passages• Both have college-ready vocabulary threaded

throughout • Only SAT has at least 2 (of 5) passages with

graphs and questions about the data



• Ultimately, the changes in the test are for the best . . . But there’s definitely a new hurdle for these students to jump.

• The more clearance they have . . . the more successful they should be in college!


SAT, ACT, and PSAT: Impact?

• How might these changes affect your National Merit Potentials? – What can you do to help them?

• What about your 7th grade TIP students? – What can you do to help them?


New SAT: Knowsys is Ready!

Knowsys has updated our SAT, PSAT, and ACT materials.

We’re ready to help you help your students succeed.

[email protected]/28/2016 Knowsys Educational Services, LLC. 68

20160323 New SAT-PSAT Overview TAGT presentation and ACT 2016 Versions - Griffith.pdf · • New...

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