604. ALL ABOUT THE ACT TEST ENHANCEMENTS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Release Date: 11/05/2024
607. THE DIFFERENT ROLES OF SCHOOL AND PRIVATE COUNSELORS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Teens on the road to college tend to encounter a variety of counselors positioned to support them on their journeys. However, not every one of these counselors has the same job. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Margaret Rothe to define the different roles of school and private counselors. What are five things you will learn in this episode? In what ways are school and private college counselors the same? Do you have to be a high school counselor to be a private college counselor? What is something high school counselors do that IECs don’t or can’t do? What is something...
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606. HOW GRADING POLICIES INFLUENCE GRADE INFLATION
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
The fact that students are earning higher grades than ever without any appreciable increase in other assessments of academic ability should be well-known by now. Less understood are the root causes of this increasing phenomenon. Amy and Mike invited researchers Maia Goodman Young and Dan Goldhaber to dig into the data on how grading policies influence grade inflation. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the purpose of grading? How did state policy around grading in Washington change during the pandemic? What does the research show about changes in grades...
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605. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: November 2024
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
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. Once in a while, 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? What new piece of curriculum did Mike create recently? What is Mike’s background in birding? What were...
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604. ALL ABOUT THE ACT TEST ENHANCEMENTS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
The ACT has been remarkably stable since the last time the exam was “enhanced” in 1989. However, significant changes are coming more quickly than you might think to this influential college admissions exam. Amy and Mike invited ACT representative Catherine Hofmann to share all the details about the ACT Test Enhancements. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How is the ACT changing? What aspects of the ACT are staying the same? What is the motivation for these enhancements? Will the Enhanced ACT be linear or adaptive? What is the timeline for the Enhanced...
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603. BUILD A WINNING BRAND TO ACE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
You don’t need to be a future business major to bring some marketing acumen to your application to higher education. Amy and Mike invited marketing professional Stacey Ross Cohen to review how to build a winning brand to ace college admissions. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How are college admissions and personal branding related? Why is personal branding/digital leadership critical for college-bound students? What are essential steps teens should take to build a strong personal brand? How can college-bound students use social media to their advantage? What...
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602. HOW ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR MORALE IS CHANGING ADMISSIONS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
The current college admissions dynamic where selective schools routinely receive 10, 15, or even 20 times as many applications as they have available seats has been a tremendous source of stress for applicants and their families. But how are the professionals who have to manage these applications holding up? Amy and Mike invited author Teege Mettille to explore how admissions counselor morale is changing admissions. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What exactly is admissions counselor malaise? How have changes on college campuses impacted the admissions process? What...
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601. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: October 2024
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
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. Once in a while, 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. We hope you enjoy this first episode of EXTEMP with Amy & Mike. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What massive step did Amy take in her test prep business? How many educational projects exactly has Mike been...
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600. CELEBRATING OUR 600TH EPISODE with educator Susan Powers
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
After 599 episodes devoted to amazing conversations about testing, admissions, education, and learning, it’s time for something completely different. Amy and Mike invited educator Susan Powers to help celebrate our 600th episode. Get ready to hear from the ghosts of podcasts past, present, and future along with a modified Colbert questionnaire! What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the biggest things Amy and Mike learned since the beginning of the podcast? What were some of our favorite episodes? What will our podcast tombstones say? What are Mike, Amy,...
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599. TEST PREP PROFILE: Sara Kohn
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Sara Kohn, who was raised in South Florida and attended Florida State University, where she obtained a degree in marketing. She later pursued a master's degree in exercise science. About two decades ago, She began tutoring about 20 years ago and eventually established her own company, Ready Set Prep - now called Advanced Test Prep, focusing on high level preparation, particularly for National Merit and the PSAT/NMSQT. She has conducted successful...
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598. TEST PREP PROFILE: Reema Chitalia
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Reema Chitalia, a dedicated test prep expert passionate about shaping the futures of students pursuing education abroad. After earning her Master's degree in the United States and working as a consultant at Deloitte, she recognized gaps in global education systems and utilized technology to tackle these challenges. Before long, she established Edufit, an innovative online test prep platform that offers bite-sized lessons designed for Gen Z, ensuring thorough...
info_outlineThe ACT has been remarkably stable since the last time the exam was “enhanced” in 1989. However, significant changes are coming more quickly than you might think to this influential college admissions exam. Amy and Mike invited ACT representative Catherine Hofmann to share all the details about the ACT Test Enhancements.
What are five things you will learn in this episode?
-
How is the ACT changing?
-
What aspects of the ACT are staying the same?
-
What is the motivation for these enhancements?
-
Will the Enhanced ACT be linear or adaptive?
-
What is the timeline for the Enhanced ACT?
MEET OUR GUEST
Catherine Hofmann serves as the Senior Vice President of Government and Public Relations at ACT, where she has held a leadership role since 2014. Prior to joining ACT, she worked in Oklahoma as a teacher and assistant principal, at the Oklahoma Department of Education, and then at College Board overseeing state strategy.
Growing up in a fifth-generation rural farming family and as a first-generation college student, Catherine understands the value of a college education and strives to use her voice and professional experience to advocate for underserved students. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s degree in School Administration.
Catherine lives on the family farm established in 1860 outside Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, her four children, and her beloved rescue cats and rescue dog, Cash. And the family is growing—she regularly fosters rescue animals and engages in a range of other community volunteer services.
Learn about the coming changes and sign up for updates at the ACT Test Enhancements page.
LINKS
The Upcoming Changes to the Enhanced ACT
RELATED EPISODES
WHY TESTS MATTER: STUDENT PERSPECTIVES
WHY THE SAT AND ACT ARE AWESOME
WHEN SHOULD YOU TAKE THE SAT OR ACT?
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our past episodes on the show page and keep up with our future ones by subscribing to our email newsletter.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS
Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.