Operation “Soaring Eagle” : Introduction to Standardized Tests

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If you’ve done even some preliminary college admission research, you will have encountered the words “standardized tests”. To be more specific, you must have come across some, if not all of the following:

• SAT Reasoning Test
• ACT
• SAT Subject Tests
• TOEFL
• IELTS

The TOEFL and IELTS are primarily for non-native English speakers.

Why do I need to give standardized tests?

It’s really straightforward. Different schools in different regions teach different curriculum to different students. Notice how standardized is not different?  My point here is that standardized tests are simply a leveler. Yes, there exist inequalities within any educational system (supposedly the great leveler). These tests are simply a way for adcoms (admission committees) to see how competitive you are.

Then why are school grades important?

Standardized test alone convey little information about you as a candidate. The real reason why they’re an essential component of any application is that they offer additional perspective to your school grades. This is best demonstrated via a couple of examples. Consider A, who’s a class topper, but has sub-par scores in his standardized tests. Then consider B, who struggles to get good grades at school, but sails past the very same standardized tests that A gave. Now, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why this might have happened. It’s possible that A’s high school is more lenient in evaluation school examinations, whereas B’s high school is very strict. Since there is no way to know the real story behind this, standardized tests help provide additional information on the caliber of the applicant. Needless to say, there’s never a guarantee that excellent standardized test scores can make up for poor grades or vice versa. It’s important to perform well in both categories.

What is a “score report”?

Although your application may contain a field for you to self-report your scores, these are just a way to give the adcom a preliminary idea of how you’ve done. When you register for a particular standardized test, you are supposed to list the colleges you intend to send score reports to. Some of these reports may be free. They often include a slightly more detailed analysis of your performance to give the adcom a better idea of how you’ve done in specific subsections and question types.

When should I give the standardized tests?

To be honest, this completely depends on which stage of high-school you are in. If you’re a junior/11th grader just browsing around, now would be a good time to give a few practice tests to see how you stack up against the competition. You can even choose to register for a few tests. You don’t need to send the score reports anywhere, it’s just that these tests might give you a perspective as to which topics you’re strong in, and which ones you need to work on.

These tests are held several times in an year, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get your scores right. The summer before/during your senior year is a good time to give the SAT/ACT, and the fall is a good time to give your SAT Subject Tests. The TOEFL is held several times in an year, so you can just pick a date, register and turn up. However, most, if not all, of these tests will require several weeks of preparation. This varies with how good you are already, which is why I stress upon how important a few mock tests can be.

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I’ll be trying to take up at least the SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject Tests and the TEOFL for in-depth analysis and prep advice in the upcoming posts because those are the ones I can provide first-hand information about. Of course, you have every reason not to take my advice in the SAT Reasoning Test, because I only scored a cumulative best of 2230. But I’m relatively confident that you can take my word for the SAT Subject Tests in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics II (800 in each), as well as the TOEFL (118 out of a possible 120).

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