Essential to a successful college application, a high score on the SAT, ACT, or both is something your child will spend a great deal of their primary and secondary education preparing for. While we strive to provide a well-rounded education for our kids, the importance of the SAT/ACT cannot be overstated. As your child approaches high school age, it's time to put a plan in place so that they can take these tests with confidence.
Students become eligible to take the SAT or the ACT once they begin their freshman year of high school. However, most agree that students should not take the tests until they've completed part of their junior year, in order to have covered in school all areas being tested. However, if your child is enrolled in a supplemental education program like Best Brains, they may be able to take the tests sooner than this.
After a child graduates out of our Math and English curriculum (levels 8 for Math and O1 for English respectively), they become eligible for our yearlong ACT/SAT prep course which covers all aspects of each test. This means that a child educated with Best Brains could potentially be ready to sit the SAT or ACT a year earlier than their peers, or even sooner!
Now, what are the benefits of sitting these tests early? The benefit of time. While most students wait until the last moment to take these tests, a student with test prep under their belt will have the opportunity to take the test multiple times if needed. No matter how much we can prepare, sometimes when we try to do the real thing, it can be quite overwhelming. Taking the test in their freshman or sophomore year means that, should the worst happen, your child can take the test again, calmer and more prepared.
The SATs and ACTs are offered several times throughout the year: March, May, June, August, October, November, and December for the SAT and September, October, December, February, April, and June for the ACT. This gives students and parents a wide variety of options when decided when to schedule these tests. Talk to your child and find when they would be most comfortable. Maybe in August and September when they have had the summer to finalize their preparation. Or maybe in December so that they can enjoy their winter break without any more anxiety. The important thing to remember is that you have options. While a lot of factors can go into which school your child will eventually be enrolled in, there are plenty of ways to take some of the control back to empower your child to achieve beyond any expectation.
