My daughter (a junior) just received her ACT score- composite 23. Her GPA is approx. 4.25 at a “one on one” high school
She was tutored by a friend ( who had a perfect score) for the ACT. She has not had much experience with standardized tests- however took the ISEE and scored approx. 70-80 percentile.
Other factors- D has history of anxiety- but says she wasn’t anxious at all for ACT and actually felt she had done well.
Involved with equestrian team- showing in hunter/jumper- lots of friends.
Since July, I have worked mostly out of town- going home about one weekend a month- D has lived mostly with father and says it has been fine. She has divided her time between homes since age 6 and appears to have adapted.
I am worried about upcoming AP tests, ACT, SAT II. I realize that given her school that her performance on these is very important.
Looking for advice on next best step- therapist or test prep or tutor??
How rigorous is the curriculum your D is taking? I think that’s the key to understanding what’s going on here. If she’s taking a standard college prep array of courses, working hard, and doing well in them- that’s an important factor. If she’s taking “HS lite” and getting A’s without having to sweat, you are looking at big time grade inflation which is going to hurt her- not just because of admissions, but because you have no way of knowing if she’s going to be prepared for college level work.
So if it were me… my first stop would be a closer look at her course work.
I think the biggest thing I want to reply to is your comment that she “has not had much experience with standardized tests”. This is likely a big part of your issue. Standardized tests are rather unique, and it is difficult to do particularly well on them without experience studying for them. Take practice exams, and get used to the timing. Between my first and second try, I improved 2 points on the composite. My only score to change was the science section, where I went up 9 points! I accomplished this by buying two prep books (probably came to $40), reading all the relevant information about the test, and spending 45-60 minutes every day taking practice exams. I found Barons and Princeton review to be the best books for me, but YMMV.
Same thing applies to the SAT II. There are some great test prep books, and if she’s motivated enough to do the work herself, there’s no real need to get a tutor.
If she takes some practice exams and practices the timing she can probably pick up a point or two. Most kids can under normal testing circumstances. A 25 would be respectable for a broad swath of colleges and unis. The math covers Algebra and Geometry and generally has one or two Trig questions. Boning up on the math from freshman year can help also. Have her take the PSAT and depending on how she does you can either take the SAT or not take the SAT. Any college or uni she would be applying to will accept the ACT with writing. Her 23 is “college ready” so anything she can do to improve that will only be helpful when you start looking at colleges and universities. College like high GPAs and your local/regional colleges and unis will probably be familiar with her high school experience. GPA is usually evaluated against the other kids in her school…more than other kids from across the region or country because high schools vary so much in how they calculate GPA and how they grade in general.
I want to echo @IliketoFence. Your daughter may be testing below expectations simply because she isn’t familiar with standardized testing. Most students improve between their first and second tries.
My daughter too didn’t have much experience. She took the ACT three times (which may sound like a lot to parents whose kids have been tested throughout their school years but it really isn’t to someone who has never taken such tests before). The first two times, her score did not change. With consistent studying, her score jumped 4 points between the second and third tries. I worked with D myself but it really meant administering section tests to her on a weekly basis, scoring them and handing them back to her. It was then up to D to go over the test, figure out her weaknesses, and review material in those areas. We started out untimed just so she could get a feel for the test format and questions. Once she was familiar with the format, I timed the tests. Her scores remained pretty consistent; speed wasn’t an issue for her. I took the practice section tests because I had never taken the ACT so I was curious.
One thing i found out was that stamina could be an issue. Make sure your child is well fed and has snacks and something to drink during breaks on exam day.
Thank you all for your comments and advice. She has taken all college prep courses- has completed 4 years of Spanish- now taking precalculus and APs and her teachers report that she works hard. I guess I’m wondering if she iis focusing on the test …her desire right now is to ride horses and compete- she is on the young side for a junior and appears to not grasp the seriousness of it.
She is my only child so thank you again for all of your advice and comments.
If her teachers are saying she’s working hard then she’s doing just fine. Settle on which test works best for her to take this spring…or take both in the spring and then start compiling a college list. She can pick up one last test of whichever one she seems to prefer senior fall for her apps.
You can start working on research especially if she wants to continue competing in equestrian. Even more so if she has a horse that needs to go to college with her.
Thank you- she can tend to be somewhat shy in new situations so I’m thinking that a school with an equestrian team would be best for her- a way for her to have an immediate connection with a group. Not too sure about the horse going to school (at least at first) 
I know I tend to be anxious about her doing well- I go out of my way to try and not have it effect her.
You might research some test optional schools for her. Some kids just don’t test well… even high performing, high IQ kids.
I’m not sure, but I think that Earlham (in Indiana) has an equestrian team. My older daughter considered going there because of the horses.
Yes, I have considered that…do you know of any way of having that tested?
My question is about having her tested regarding test taking but as I type that I have to laugh!!
I don’t see how a therapist is going to help her improve her ACT score. That’s going to need a bit more explanation behind it.
It appears to me that the easiest sections of the ACT to prepare for are the Math and English, while the Reading and Science are just “hard.” I took the ACT 3 times, the score that improved most dramatically for me was English (my math was strong from the first time I took it). If her scores in Math and English are low I think she would benefit most from studying those subjects more to improve her score.
Regarding the remark above about Earlham. Yes, they have an equestian team and a barn co-op and they are Test Optional. (Test scores are not required for merit scholarships either) She should be able to get into Earlham with her current scores as long as she doesn’t send them.
I’m not sure how testing her on test taking would be of benefit. What would you even do with the results? If I were you, I’d take the normal course of action, find her a test prep class that will give her some test specific skills and approaches (it doesn’t have to be super expensive.) A friend with a perfect score doesn’t necessarily make her a great teacher of the test. Have her take both the SAT and the ACT. While most kids score comparably on both, some kids have much greater success on one over the other.
Hi Vladenschlutte- The therapist is for her anxiety but as I said previously, she says she wasn’t nervous or anxious taking the test. She did score rather low on the Math so I think that’s what we’ll focus on.
We will check out Earlham- and hopefully her scores will increase.
Try the ACT again, and try the SAT at least once, but I suspect that your daughter will be better off looking at test-optional schools. I know that Centenary, in northwestern NJ, has a strong equine program. I suspect some southern women’s colleges do, also. Look at fairtest.org and Colleges That Change Lives.
For equestrian programs, check out Sweet Briar. Your daughter’s current score falls within the 25 and 75th percentiles. Higher scores will make her a stronger candidate. It’s a women’s college.
There are good places all across the country. When the OP and/or her D get a little narrower in their search: big or small, region, board a horse or not… we can offer up ideas.