Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.
This spring the ACT administered for the last time EXPLORE (for 8th and 9th grade assessments) and PLAN (ACT’s version of PSAT for the 10th grade); in their stead the ACT launched Aspire, its brand new entry into the world of core curriculum assessment tests.
Aspire is a suite of tests for assessing Common Core performance across English, math, reading, science, and writing, addressing students from 3rd grade through to junior year.
ETS (Educational Testing Service) used to be almost a monopoly. They created a test like the SAT or the TOEFL, and test takers signed up; they didn't really have a choice. Those days are over. The SAT, as mentioned in a previous column, is under siege from the ACT and the growing number of colleges (Fairtest.org) who are no longer requiring standardized tests. Now the TOEFL, with over a 1,000,000 test takers, each, on average, paying $140, a $140,000,000 concession, is also feeling the heat of competition. The first threat to TOEFL began to seriously rear its head in 2003: the International English Language Testing System, the IELTS (www.ielts.org). This test, an entity of Cambridge University and a consortium of British and Australian organizations, is the test of choice for EFL students seeking to enroll in universities across the British Commonwealth.
