by Hannah Zack ’14, Staff Writer

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Amy Shapiro, the Head of the College Counseling Office. I asked her a few questions about her opinions on standardized testing and on the college process in general..

HZ: How much of a presence do you think the college process has in NA everyday life?

AS: Certainly for fall semester seniors, they’re thinking about it everyday. That probably trickles down—certainly to the juniors, I hope not to the freshmen and sophomores.

HZ: How much of a presence do you think it needs to be?

AS: It’s certainly very important for the seniors to be thinking about it because they’re in the throws of the process right now. It’s nice for it to be in the back of the juniors’ mind as something that’s creeping upon them, and something for them to be excited about. For freshmen and sophomores, they need to be focusing on getting good grades, establishing themselves as leaders and getting excited about extracurriculars and not thinking about the college process.

HZ: How accurate do you think the PSAT and EXPLORE tests are in determining the best fit for a student?

AS: Since its inception the PSAT has been billed as a practice test for the SAT.  For sophomores who take the test, the scores are less predictive of SAT scores than are those of juniors who take the PSAT.  Logically, this is because the junior who takes the test has had one more year of studies under his or her belt – not to mention, he/she has likely taken the PSAT once before.  The EXPLORE test, administered by the ACT testing agency, is a test designed for 9^th graders and therefore is less predictive of ACT scores.  Their PLAN test is what the agency bills as their practice test for the ACT – and the score a student earns on this exam can be used to predict success on the ACT.  This year Newark Academy offered for the first time the PLAN to any interested 10^th graders on Saturday, December 8^th.  We hope that this will help students to determine earlier on whether they prefer the SAT or ACT, so that they can focus on just one test by the time they need to prepare for ‘the real thing.’ This way, they need not dilute their energies or focus by preparing for and/or taking too many standardized tests in the junior year.

HZ: When should a student start preparing and considering their options for the SAT and the ACT?

AS: The College Counseling Office encourages students to take the SAT or ACT for the first time in the winter or spring of their junior year.  For some students, particularly those who are looking to be recruited for college athletics, testing in early winter is advised.  All students map out their individualized standardized testing plan with Dr. DiBianca in their 10^th grade meeting.  And the subject area teachers and department heads are able to recommend the best time to take the various SAT Subject Tests.  The College Counseling Office has a listing of these recommendations.