Perfection is overrated
In my meetings with students and their parents prior to ACT or SAT tutoring, there are two questions almost always asked, one by me and the other directed towards me. I like to see what my students (and just as importantly, their parents) have for a goal, a test-score they’re aiming to get. When I ask, the most common response from students for the ACT (or SAT, but I’ll use ACT as an example here) is 36: the perfect score. When I push back, they defer to perhaps a 35. I love the confidence of my students. But then I have to explain the odds of getting such a score are pretty slim.
According to the ACT, (https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/cccr2018/P_99_999999_N_S_N00_ACT-GCPR_National.pdf), in 2018 only 3,714 out of 1,914,817 test takers received the perfect 36, which translates to .194%. In real world terms, if you filled the University of Michigan football stadium close to capacity (100,000 students) with test takers, only 194 attendees would receive a perfect score on the ACT. Odds of winning some lotteries are better than that. You have a more realistic chance, .78%, to score a 35, and that leads to a combined .97% chance of getting a 35 or 36 – less than 1%. Is your child the top 1% in their class? Top 1% in her school district? Even if he or she is, that doesn’t mean they’ll score a 35-36 on the ACT. Getting a great score involves some level of luck as well (more on that in another post).
And if you do achieve perfection on your standardized test, what does it mean for you? Probably not what you imagine. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, more than 50% of applicants with perfect SAT scores were rejected by Princeton. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Stanford rejected about 69% of applicants with a perfect SAT score. Perfection is close to impossible yet guarantees nothing. With standardized testing, it’s overrated.
The second question, the one that I’m asked by students, is, “How many hours do I have to study for the ACT or SAT to reach my goal?” The answer is exactly 35.8. Or 59.7. Or possibly 22.6. Obviously there is no one correct answer, but the bigger issue is that students shouldn’t try to count hours: count results instead. When we set a schedule for our students we don’t put hours next to the assignments, and we remind them they should be prepared to modify the schedule if needed. If you’re setting up a study schedule on your own, take the time to create a list daily assignments with specific benchmarks (number of pages in a book, number of test questions to answer or review, particular topics covered) and check them off when completed. Time is irrelevant. Good effort also involves attitude. ‘Reading’ a chapter in a book isn’t the same as ‘learning’ the material in that chapter. Students need to be self-motivated and want to put in the extra effort. Sadly, that can’t be taught: it simply comes from within.
It’s up to parents and advisors to help students create reasonable goals and establish a game plan to achieve them. Should you aim for a 36? Absolutely. Just don’t count on it.