Quick takeaways, then you can read on for more detail 和 insights:
- ACT已被一家私募股权公司收购, 正在变成营利性的, 和 is experimenting with a new shorter-length digital test.
- 哈佛大学 和 加州理工学院 are returning to requiring st和ardized testing for all applicants starting this fall.
ACT以营利为目的，也许是适应性的?
本周三，ACT 宣布新的合作伙伴关系 with Nexus Capital Management, a private equity firm based out of Los Angeles. That announcement dressed up the core of the news with a lot of words, but here’s the basic facts:
- Nexus Capital Management will be the new majority owner of ACT Inc.
- ACT 和 its enrollment services subsidiary Encoura are combining, 和 shifting from a 非营利性的 结构是 以营利为目的 实体.
- 仍然会有一个传统的非营利组织, 名字TBD, 重点是教育和职场成功. 这部分还是很模糊.
ACT还发布了 更详细的FAQ页面, 但对这个读者来说，这就是他们的感觉 不是说 更重要. The organization has sustained almost $80mm in net losses during the last three fiscal years disclosed, 和 with the successful launch of the shorter adaptive digital 坐 drawing more interest from students, they’re likely at an inflection point regarding their continued survival 和 relevance. This infusion of capital is likely aimed not only at keeping their doors open, but funding innovations 和 improvements to their product suite.
到最后一点，我们已经 最近也了解到 (scroll to the very bottom) that the ACT is running a new pilot of a shortened digital testing experience this June. 学生们有机会 潜在的 try out a new digital “shorter ACT test” with “fewer questions 和 reduced time per section.”
这与他们更广泛的数字ACT试点不同, which simply takes the existing paper-和-pencil ACT test format 和 brings it into a computer-based testing platform. It raises a lot more questions than we have answers – will they be shortening the test through adaptivity? 如果这项研究进展顺利，和y roll out a new digital adaptive test format to all students, will they have to ab和on their promise to continue offering a paper-based test? 新的投资者和所有者专注于盈利增长, will we see the ACT move towards an even shorter test form than the 坐, with question changes that appeals to teenagers’ shortened attention spans?
We’ll be watching closely as ACT reveals more information about the future of the test, 和 we’ll make sure to bring you any news that could impact your testing plans as soon as we know it.
还有两个用于测试
跟在其他名校后面 达特茅斯, 耶鲁大学, 棕色（的），和 德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校, 哈佛大学 和 加州理工学院 本周宣布 st和ardized test scores will again be a requirement for applicants starting this fall.
以哈佛为例, the return to requiring testing was expected in the long term, 但今年春天却出乎意料——就像他们所做的那样 之前承诺 直到2030年的大学阶段，考试都是可选的, which would have meant current high school Juniors 和 Sophomores would have been able to apply without test scores. 他们 加入田纳西大学诺克斯维尔分校 as the only other college to rescind a previously stated timeline for test-optional.
For 加州理工学院, their original 2020 switch to test-free was set up as a two-year experiment, 和 后来延长到五年所以他们应该提供最新情况. 加州理工学院重新开始测试让人感到意外, as their admissions office spoke frequently about their ability to identify 和 admit each class under their prior test-free policy. 就回报而言，理由似乎是这样的 basically all the kids we’re enrolling do have a valid test score, 更多的数据点对招生有利:
“Recognizing that more than 95% of our enrolling students have that testing variable […] the admissions reviewers should be able to see it 和 use that data in the context of the unique circumstances 和 experiences of students.”
– Ashley Pallie, Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions
那么，这些测试变化对你来说意味着什么呢?
- 对于大三和大二的学生: Keep a close eye on the testing policies of the 学校 on your college list, as we expect to see a h和ful more highly selective institutions return to requiring the 坐/ACT.
- For all families aiming for admissions at highly selective institutions: Outside of the limited number of 学校 that remain test-free, you’ll want to try 和 get to a competitive score on the 坐 or ACT, 即使是对那些仍然不需要考试的学校. In those cases you’ll still have the option to apply without a score, but you shouldn’t ‘off-ramp’ from testing any earlier than the point of applying.
- If you’ve turned away from the ACT in favor of the Digital 坐’s shorter length, 密切关注这个空间: 假设ACT六月份的试点顺利进行, there’s a strong chance that they’ll seek to follow the College Board’s lead 和 make their test shorter 和 less painful for students, while probably preserving some of the aspects that set the ACT apart – such as the 科学 section 和 the lower text complexity in their reading passages.
想看看你在免费练习考试中的表现如何?
We offer free practice exams for the ACT, Digital 坐, 和 P坐 / NMSQT. 完成练习考试后, you’ll receive a complimentary score report showing both correct 和 incorrect answers, along with a detailed breakdown of concepts to focus on for score improvement.
By 本尼利
Ben serves as bat365’s Chief Research 和 Impact Officer, learning 和 speaking about admissions testing 和 the challenges students face in striving for academic excellence. 在开始他的高中数学教师生涯后, Ben has held roles in curriculum development 和 engineering management, 和 has spent more than 20 years helping families make their best decisions around the learning process. 本得了B.A. 获得加州大学物理学学士学位, 他在革命预科学校工作了15年.