254. Using The Common Data Set
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Release Date: 10/22/2021
699. BEST COLLEGES FOR YOUR TUITION DOLLARS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
An assortment of institutions as diverse and differentiated as colleges and universities can be ranked and sorted in any number of ways. If not all listing criteria are equally relevant, which ones should you trust to find your best fit schools? Amy and Mike asked Washington Monthly editor-in-chief Paul Glastris to clarify his rankings for the best colleges for your tuition dollars. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What's wrong with the metrics that U.S. News and similar ranking systems use to rate colleges? What alternative metrics would be better to rate colleges? ...
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698. WHAT DOES PUBLIC EDUCATION OWE TO ADVANCED STUDENTS?
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Public schools are mandated to provide educational opportunities to all students and generally work very hard to support learners with profound deficits or differences. But what about learners who require enrichment rather than accommodations? Amy and Mike invited Kenneth Shores to examine the question of what public education owes to advanced students. What are five things you will learn in this episode? In theory, what is the purpose of public education? Why has public education struggled to support advanced students? Does harm occur when enrichment is withheld from thriving students? ...
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697. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: December 2025
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: December 2025 The Tests and the Rest podcast has always been relentlessly focused on exploring important topics in testing, admissions, education, and learning with amazing expert guests. Sometimes, though, we enjoy an unstructured opportunity to discuss our own takes on major issues, upcoming events, and our endeavors at the intersection of business and education. Catch up with us in the latest episode of EXTEMP with Amy & Mike. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How was the NTPA Winter Workshop? What are Amy and Mike’s plans for...
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696. NEW WAYS TO USE YOUR 529 PLAN
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Every dollar saved for college is a dollar you won’t have to borrow. But even if you can save, what’s the best way to put money aside for higher education? Amy and Mike invited financial expert Joanne Dashiell to explore new ways to use your 529 plan. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What exactly is a 529 plan, and how does it work? Can you talk about the two different types of 529 plans, savings and prepaid? What are some of the tax advantages associated with using a 529 plan? How have 2025 policy changes expanded 529 plan flexibility? What is the one message...
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695. TEST PREP PROFILE: Dani Fleischer & Kevin McCormick
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUESTS Kevin S. McCormick is a certified New Jersey English teacher who has taught middle and high school in Elizabeth, NJ since 2013. Before joining Teach for America, he worked in Institutional Equity Sales at Salomon Smith Barney, the NYSE, and the American Stock Exchange. He holds an MBA in Finance and International Business and a BA in English from NYU. Dani Fleischer is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in The Huffington Post and The Washington Post. Like...
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694. TEST PREP PROFILE: Lucy Zhang
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Lucy Zhang is the owner of A+ Test Prep and Tutoring, a 30+ year–old company helping students boost SAT/ACT scores and academic performance. She also co-founded SetSail, an online tutoring company connecting U.S. tutors with students abroad, and now runs both organizations. Lucy is focused on growing her impact by bringing additional tutoring teams into the fold, so more students can access high-quality, one-on-one support. Find Lucy on . ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and...
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693. TEST PREP PROFILE: Roman Marchenko
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Roman Marchenko. After 15 years of teaching high school social studies in public and private settings, Roman transitioned to full-time test preparation. He’s always been a big fan of standardized tests, and a large part of his practice is getting students to evolve their mindset about the ACT and SAT. So many view these tests as a necessary evil, at best, but that serves as an obstacle to performance! Roman’s favorite part of the job is getting to glimpse...
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692. TEST PREP PROFILE: Angie Kelley
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Angie Kelley. Angie is the founder of , a test prep and tutoring company dedicated to helping high-performing students train smart, test strong, and claim their futures. A licensed Oklahoma educator and graduate of Oklahoma Christian University with a B.S.E. in Mathematics, Angie draws on twenty years of classroom experience and a passion for strategic learning to help students reach their potential on high-stakes exams. Her work bridges the gap between academic...
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691. TEST PREP PROFILE: Jonah Fishel
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Jonah Fishel. Jonah has spent nearly a decade helping students and families unlock confidence and mastery in learning. His journey began in an unexpected place: volunteering as a mentor inside a juvenile detention center in central Virginia. There, he worked with young people facing immense challenges, including behavioral issues, learning differences, and years of disrupted schooling. What he discovered was that the real work wasn’t just teaching math or...
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690. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: MentoMind
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Expanding your tutoring business with MentoMind with educators Amit Jain and Chris McKenna What are five things you will learn in this episode? How are tutors using MentoMind? How is MentoMind helping tutors attract more students? How is MentoMind evolving from an SAT/ACT platform to an all-learning course platform? What kind of courses are tutors creating on MentoMind? What is the new and upcoming AI-powered toolkit "TutorHub" all about? ABOUT MENTOMIND is a revolutionary SAT/ACT prep platform designed to support students and help tutoring and test prep businesses thrive....
info_outlineIn a system where selective colleges benefit from as many applicants as possible even as acceptance becomes rarer than ever, smart applicants need to do more than take public statements at face value. Prepare to delve into the data! Amy and Mike invited educator Shane Bybee to explain how to use the Common Data Set.
What are five things you will learn in this episode?
- What is the Common Data Set?
- How and by whom can the Common Data Set be accessed?
- What kind of information does the CDS hold?
- Why should college applicants seek this information out?
- What are the limitations of the CDS?
MEET OUR GUEST
Shane Bybee of Bybee College Prep has spent over half his life teaching. Along the way, he has worked with thousands of different students teaching everything from remedial 7th grade English/Language Arts to Dual Credit English IV and AP Language and Composition and even remedial Algebra I. Every year, no matter the subject he taught, his students outperformed the campus average on standardized tests. He has written curriculum, presented topics at the state convention for English teachers, and created professional development sessions for colleagues and school districts.
While earning a master's degree in Educational Leadership and getting certified as an administrator, he started Bybee College Prep. He did research into how schools could help more students achieve National Merit recognition. His research grew into a tutorial service that has helped dozens of students reach National Merit Semifinalist status.
As an educator, he is certified to teach Gifted and Talented students and has completed courses for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. He has also served on test item review committees multiple times for the companies that write standardized tests and helped write online curriculum used by major test preparation companies. He understands what goes into crafting these tests.
Shane is also the co-founder of Parent University and host of the Let’s Talk College Podcast.
Shane has appeared on this podcast in episode 25 to discuss When Gifted and Talented Students Struggle and again in episode 195 as the subject of a Test Prep Profile.
Find Shane at shane@bybeecollegeprep.com.
LINKS
Texas A&M Student Data and Reports
College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics
RELATED EPISODES
THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN THE COLLEGE PROCESS
HOW IECS AND TEST PREP PROFESSIONALS CAN WORK TOGETHER
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page.