<p>DS went for a “free” ACT test at a local test prep school yesterday afternoon and got a respectable score - 29. I was actually surprised to learn that is at 96%. </p>
<p>It seems that the benefit of a test prep class is highly debatable. Unlike DD, DS seems to at least willing to open some prep books. </p>
<p>My question is: will the junior classes help a student getting better test scores? In other words, should be expect a high score at the end of his junior year? </p>
<p>Based on the experiences we learnt during DD’s application, we are much less focused on test scores this round (meaning - will not push for a 2400 or 36). DS will start running XC and he is showing a great interest in chess. We will work on getting him started with a community service project that he has an interest in. </p>
<p>DS is a very smart kid and we think he will be very competitive in 2010 season. However, at this time, he is at a lower starting point comparing to DD was.</p>
<p>Sometimes the “free” diagnostic tests at the prep classes yield interestingly low scores. This gives a lot of room for their course to “improve” you. The diagnostic test they give at the END of the course (before your official test) yields a surprisingly high score. The “real” test score is often lower than the course final diagnostic. Go figure… Just something to keep in mind. This happened with the prep service D’s private hs used a number of years ago. They got fired after one year. It was pretty transparent.</p>
<p>Not that 29 is low, by any means. Just something to keep in mind. Scores tend to improve (not always, but often) as the student gets experience with the test and develops critical reasoning skills.</p>
<p>Since the test was from a test prep company, it may not be totally accurate. Has he tried real ACT’s from the real ACT book, or does he have any old tests from his sister? Some people think that test prep companies make their sample tests more difficult than the real tests to scare people into taking the prep courses. Why not let your son take an actual ACT test to see how he does? That may be more accurate than the test prep test and can give you an idea of what he needs to work on. Even if he gets a 29 on the real test, chances are it will go up by the end of junior year, even without prep. In any case, paying about $45 for an actual ACT is less than the cost of a prep course, so why not start there?</p>