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Using comparative examples from SAT, ACT, and GRE contexts, it reflects on how large score improvements can imply major changes in performance distributions. The narrative also explores motivation, admissions pressure, and the emotions of taking a first “cold” practice test, framing results as informative yet not definitive. 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Malik Boykin – Brown University  \nINTRODUCTION  \nIn the fall of 2019, news outlets across the United states were flooded with stories about Kamilah Campbell, an African-American college hopeful from Miami Dade county (Hanna, 2019a; Jaschik, 2019a) . Campbell’s SAT scores were withheld by the college board amidst an investigation into her alleged prior knowledge of the test. This accusation imperiled her consideration for several of the scholarships and fellowships she applied for, as well as for her admission to her dream school – Florida State University. Months earlier, and in a similar fashion, Brendan Clare, a White male student athlete, was in the headlines for being accused of cheating by the ACT when the tests creators deemed that his score improvement from his previous test score was too high. Brendan’s admission to Pennsylvania State University was jeopardized by the threat of cancellation of his scores (Jaschik, 2019b) . In light of these recent national headlines, I deemed it timely and necessary to share personal insights gleaned from my own engagement with standardized testing. What follows is a hybrid personal essay that bolsters my own insights about standardized test scores with theories from the world of psychology, a world that my standardized test score opened up for me.  \nWhile I was never accused of cheating, I share with Kamilah and Brendan the experience of improving my standardized testing score to an eyebrow raising level contrasted against a previous performance estimate. Kamilah raised her SAT score a full 310 points on a test that is scored on a range between 400 and 1600, which is an improvement of more than 25% of the total 1200-point scoring range (College Board, 2019a; Hanna, 2019a) . No matter where you apply a 310-point increase, even if you applied half of it to the verbal section and half to the quantitative section, this improvement would represent an increase of more than a full standard deviation (College Board, 2019a) . On the ACT exam, Brendan Clare scored a full 5 points higher, accounting for an increase of one standard deviation as well as a 14% improvement along the scoring range from  \nHuman Variance and assessment for Learning  \n0-36 (NCES, 2010) . In comparison, I sat for a normed equivalent GRE practice test at a commercial test prep center adjacent to the institution where I earned my bachelor’s degree in the summer of 2010. That fall, after 102 days of diligent and emotionally draining test preparation, I scored a full 550 points higher on my official exam than I did on my practice. This improvement represents nearly 45% of the total point scoring range and included a full standard deviation of improvement on the verbal portion, as well as a whopping three standard deviations of improvement on the quantitative portion. While I have no opinion about whether Kamilah or Brendan cheated on their exams, I have very strong opinions about the malleability of standardized test scores and what they mean. In this chapter, I will tell the psychological story of these 102 days, what I think they mean, what I think they don’t mean, and most importantly what I think they could mean for future standardized testing preparation.  \n“NOW YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’VE GOT TO DO.”  \nIt is worth noting that I was an aspiring adult student, who was fully (if apprehensively) committing to pursuing a second career in academia. I juggled hopeful trepidation with healthy insecurity. I had spent most of the previous decade chasing the dream of becoming a songwriter, performing artist, and music producer. I was at the edge of what was going to be a foolhardy cannonball splash back into the academic pool. These were cold but familiar waters, as I had recently received a few years of exceptionally positive feedback after a decade of radically negative feedback about my academic prospects. This was it; I decided to plunge into my second dream and if I drowned, ","cbCaimcGVIlxQTm3","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimcGVIlxQTm3","pdf",218609,18,"English","# Introduction\n## Headlines and score uncertainty\n## Personal scoring improvements\n## From aspiring student to test preparation","[{\"question\":\"What motivates the author to write about standardized test preparation?\",\"answer\":\"The author wants to share personal insights after national headlines about withheld or threatened test scores and to explain what score changes can and cannot mean psychologically.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the text describe the impact of large score improvements?\",\"answer\":\"It shows that improvements like a 310-point SAT gain or a 5-point ACT gain can correspond to large shifts in standard deviation and overall percentage improvement, highlighting the magnitude of change.\"},{\"question\":\"What was the author’s approach to the GRE practice test preparation?\",\"answer\":\"The author decided to take the first practice test “cold” to establish a baseline, then compares later official performance to that initial practice result.\"}]","A Case Study in Standardized Test Preparation | PDF",1790525937,45]