How Feedback from the SAT and ACT Can Help Your Student Succeed QAS SAS

We at A+ recognize that information is power. Before any student begins a test prep program at A+, we administer an actual SAT or ACT exam as a diagnostic test that the student can take at home or in one of our offices. The information obtained from the results of this practice test helps us determine a student’s strengths and areas for improvement. Reviewing your student’s results from this diagnostic or from actual PSAT, SAT, and ACT exams helps our tutors create a game plan for success. Analyzing a student’s performance on previous tests is one of the key tools our tutors use to help a student improve his score on the SAT or ACT exams. Learning where she struggled on test day can help a student more effectively prepare for the next time she takes the exam. Analyzing Your SAT Test Results A lot of parents ask us what other analytical tools are available outside of our diagnostic exams and how they can access detailed reports from test day. The College Board, which publishes the SAT exam, offers two options for obtaining these reports: the Question-and-Answer Service (QAS) and the Student Answer Service (SAS). The location and date of the test will determine which service your student is able to order. These services are available only to SAT Reasoning test takers, and are not currently offered to SAT Subject test takers. Question-and-Answer Service (QAS) The QAS provides you with: The exam booklet, including responses and whether they were correct or incorrect Scoring information Question types Levels of difficulty of the questions The QAS is available only for the October (Saturday), January (Saturday), and May (Saturday and Sunday) SAT test dates and costs $18. The service is not available for the March, June, November, or December SAT. The QAS is a great opportunity for students, parents, and tutors to receive detailed feedback on how a student performs on the â€Å"real thing.† We are not only able to see how students perform on specific subjects or topics, but we can glean some general information about their test-taking approach. For instance, in reviewing a QAS report, it may become clear that a student too often ignores his gut feeling and instead chooses an incorrect answer, or that he runs out of time on certain sections of the test. Student Answer Service (SAS) When the more comprehensive QAS is not available, you can order the SAS, which provides you with: A report that shows the test taker’s correct and incorrect answers The types of questions The difficulty of each question answered correctly, incorrectly, or omitted The SAS costs $13.50, but it does not provide you with the exam questions. ACT Test Report Information The ACT offers its own â€Å"test feedback† service known as Test Report Information (TRI). This report is available to students who take the ACT on national test dates in December, April, or June at national test centers. The TRI includes the following: A copy of the questions A list of the test taker’s answers and the answer key Scoring information For those who complete the Writing portion, a copy of the essay prompt, the scoring rubric, and the score assigned to the essay by two readers The TRI costs $20 and can be ordered at the time of registration or up to three months after the applicable test date. Ordering the QAS, SAS, or TRI For more details on when these services are available and instructions on how to order your QAS or SAS report, see the College Board page on verifying your scores. For the ACT’s TRI, see their webpage about score information. When ordering a report, be sure to factor in the delivery time—you want to receive it in enough time so that it will be helpful to your student in preparing for the next test. When you receive the report, we also ask that you share a copy of it with A+ so that our experienced tutors can interpret the information and leverage it in your child’s test prep program. For an overview of how our A+ one-to-one SAT or ACT preparation tutoring process works toincrease your child's score, please click here. Photo Credit: naraekim0801