We just found out that S21’s ACT is a go. He was shocked since we were told early in the summer that all tests were cancelled for the summer. Needless to say he is not very happy about resuming test prep the next 3 weeks. He is so used to preparing and having it cancelled at the last minute. He was ready to throw in the towel since all of the schools he is applying to are test optional. I told him that he has nothing to lose by trying to get a good score.
Our schools announced they will be back to 5 days a week. Last week they were going to be in session 2 days a week. I don’t know what to believe since virus cases in our area are increasing.
There is so much uncertainty and it is causing so much stress for these kids (and us parents).
D21 July ACT test cancelled here in Western PA. Not sweating it too much as she already has a very good score. Would like a chance for the long shot of getting a 36 which would qualify her for the Bama Presidential Elite scholarship which is full tuition for 4 years, 1 year of housing, $1,000 a year stipend. $500 a year for books and one time $2000 do due a summer research of study abroad. She will try to sign up for the fall.
Yeah, our school district hasn’t even tried to host a test. My D has a solid SAT score, so it’s not really a big deal. She wanted a shot at a 36 for some merit awards.
D21 was signed up for the July ACT, and her test was cancelled too. She has a decent enough SAT score (at or just above the average score for admitted students) for those colleges that are still requiring scores for homeschoolers this fall, so that’s good. She is signed up for the Sept SAT so she can hopefully improve her scores to have better chances for her super high reaches, but if that’s canceled then she can go test-optional for those, even as a homeschooler. She has enough dual credit grades and SAT2/AP scores to make those admissions folks happy, it seems. This takes some of the stress away for her so I’m glad about that.
After working on her Common App essay for almost a month, she ditched the draft she had almost completed and wrote an entirely different essay in two afternoons. This new one reads so much better than the first one and just needs a bit of tweaking. Shes happy about this because she hit a roadblock with that first one and then just got sick of writing it. She doesn’t have this problem with the supplemental essays. She’s been writing “Why X” essays each week and she enjoys those because she writes something different for each one. If the college’s prompt changes and no longer has the “Why X” option once August 1 rolls around, she at least feels the exercise has been useful for her in terms of confirming why she wants to apply.
Both her dual credit colleges are returning to in-person classes in late August. She will be tested for COVID on a regular basis right along with all the fulltime undergrads at our local state university. Her father is terrified she is going to catch COVID and give it to him so he wants her to opt for the online versions of the courses, but I am fine with her going as long as mask compliance is 100% and the distancing measures are followed by everyone. I’ve been in contact with the admins at both colleges and have assured them D21 will abide by all safety rules, including not participating in her usual northeast sporting competitions this fall (which I don’t think are happening anyway). They are even fine with her crossing state lines to see her father at his MA home each week, as long as she does not take public transit and remains in his home the entire time (walking outside is okay). We have no problem agreeing with that.
@Solstice155 – yes, I noticed the ‘recommended’ vs. ‘required’ difference too. But, b/c we have a statewide mask mandate, it’s my hope that masks will be required at his testing site. I think I’m going to ping ACT and ask them about if that’s the case.
I was talking with my husband last night – we’re estimating it’ll be 12 to 15 test takers in a classroom if seats are six feet apart. Does that seem right?
Whole thing makes me nervous, but he really needs a score – about half his list is not test optional, including our affordable in-states, and his one and only test did not hit the mark. The good news is he did much better in his mock ACT yesterday, so if he can pull that off in July he’d be done. Whole thing is stressful!
I’m sorry if my concerns are insensitive to those whose seats got cancelled. I’m mostly glad he has a chance to test, but just also worried. If the testing site were in our district, I’d have more confidence in it being safe. This is a county where mask wearing is low but there is COVID. My husband thinks, however, that even in this county the school officials will take safety seriously.
@AlmostThere2018 in a regular sized classroom, I doubt they can fit more than six kids! They have to have six feet all around them. I saw a simulation where a 100-person lecture hall only got 20 kids in when having them far enough apart. I bet that’s why schools are cancelling their tests. They maybe thought kids would be able to sit closer together by July?
The number per classroom depends on so many things like class layout, masks, HVAC, etc., but by now they should have a lot of those things worked through. I think it’s so overwhelming they don’t know where to start.
MN-I received the email yesterday that D will be able to test in July, however, I feel like I received a similar email for the June test that was eventually cancelled. If this one doesn’t happen, we are ready to just stick with her one Feb 2020 score which is solid, but hoping for better. She is not the type to study for the tests, so I don’t know that her score would be any better anyway. She is signed up for the SAT in September.
What makes you think a high school has the seating worked out? When our school cancelled SATs, they didn’t have anything figured out. They were just late in telling everyone that they were cancelling. Never even got to the planning stage. I know because I talked to the guidance office. Sometimes guidance offices are just slow in telling ACT or College Board that they won’t host. Many high schools with upcoming tests are likely not planning their spaces out. There’s a big disconnect between the testing companies and the schools that host. Sometimes they don’t communicate well and so we all get bad info.
@AlmostThere2018 what state are you in? We’re in a mask required state, but kids are not required to wear them in the return to school plans announced for fall. Not really sure why. I get the little ones, but there’s no reason high schoolers shouldn’t be required barring some medical reason. It’s going to put teachers in a bad spot if we actually do go back (which I’m not counting on!).
Indoor dining pushed back already due to “knuckleheads”. Can’t imagine school being 100% in person, but we shall see.
I’m grateful they told us so early about July and not at the last minute. I clicked around last night in the change site area for alternates. There was a rural one about 2 hours away with a seat but when I got to the part to pay it would not process. This morning it won’t even get out of the original screen. Oh well. Hopefully Fall the schools will be game to figure things out. I wish our private school would step up and host. I’ve written the counselor to ask. Super pleased that some of your kids will be able to take it.
I read that triple cotton masks or fabric ones with a filter insert are the safest after N95s. I purchased some on Etsy that are very comfortable and my husband has the filter kinds. Walking around in a hot area, none of these are super comfortable, but for inside if you get used to it, not bad.
Another thought, worst case is making him study for it in August and September and none of them happen. I’m not sure I’m willing to push that since he has two courses this summer, volunteering, college apps, summer English assignments, and a challenging fall schedule. Although it is tempting to wish for no available testing, I’d really like for him to get one good shot at the ACT. I realize that some TO OAs are going to be more comfortable seeing that for no hook kids, regardless of equity concerns.
I was just looking at the University of Delaware website and they are going TO for 2021. However they are requiring 3 separate 250 word Essays for those students who elect to apply test optional. They list the three questions on the website. They also recommend if you are looking admission into science or engineering majors you should submit AP scores and SAT Subject tests if you have those.
It also says that going forward they are going to be test optional for only Delaware residents who graduate from a Delaware high school.
I feel that high schools should know by now how many students/desks they can fit into each room. School starts in mid August, and if they don’t have basic stuff like desks available now, then they won’t have a solid plan in August.
Our district isn’t hosting tests, so it doesn’t tell me anything about my kid’s specific school.
I’m in Colorado. Our superintendent was asked about masks and he said it didn’t matter because they are required by county and city law. I would think your state law would mean masks are required.
@burghdad i wonder what the details are on U of D TO going forward for Delaware Hs students. I can see where that would make sense for a lot of states because they would know more about the rigor in the schools and if standardized tests over the years that are required and included on the transcript.
@AlwaysMoving D21 is using a teacher to help with essays. She is on the committee to figure out how kids go back to school. Illinois just released its standards last week and it sounds like our district has made very little headway. They are coming up with lists of options for the board to see and that meeting isn’t until the end of July. We start school Aug 10th. So I definitely think there are schools who are not ready for an ACT
We got a “still on” ACT email. We picked July when April cancelled. Ds friend picked June and had an initial “good” email, only to get cancelled 2 days before. I’ve been emailing an assistant superintendent for facilities for the past 3 weeks to inquire. At first he said he had no idea any ACTs had even been scheduled (no wonder June didn’t happen). Then he came back and said it could happen if a safety plan was submitted and approved by the state, but no plan had been formulated. After receiving the ACT email yesterday, I forwarded it to my contact and asked what was going on. He replied this morning that they had received approval for their safety plan and he believed everything was good for “one time student building access use,” but “just like a surprise snowstorm can cancel school out of the blue, this could get cancelled too.” So, for now, we are on. Ds ticket says GROUP A on the top. Her friend who rescheduled to July after June cancelled got an email that due to Covid-19 restrictions her test was cancelled. Our guess is that they are only taking a certain number and it was first registered (group A?) who made the cut. Now to get D to study. She bombed math (pacing was way off first time), but had worked with a tutor in the weeks leading up to April and was killing it. She is convinced it will just get cancelled again and is fighting me on prep.
And our schools have said still working out details, but we will most likely be back 2 days in person, 3 on-your-own-at-home-on-line-useless-self-instruction (my terminology). It’s just a matter of what 2 days. Every other, or 2 in a row, 3 off. Great.
We just got some very light weight masks from yoga society. The tie dye is Ds favorite so far.
ACT at our school just cancelled. So dumb. I don’t know why they wouldn’t have cancelled weeks ago. They knew they wouldn’t be ready. They just made my point.