Homeschool Questions and Answers: Preparing for College Entry Exams

Question. My homeschooled children are approaching middle school. When should we start worrying about taking college entry exams such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT?

Answer. The standardized tests you are concerned about for your homeschoolers are not required until your child is in high school, and even then, not until their junior year. If you are comfortable that your child is progressing at a comfortable rate that will allow them to be ready for college, you really needn't worry too much about these exams till then. Still, us homeschoolers still need to cover our bases, don't we? If you want to make sure your homeschooled child will be ready for the college entry exams, there are some things you can do to ensure their best success.

Expand their vocabulary to prepare your homeschooler for college entry exams. Students with superior vocabularies will do best of the language arts sections of the PSAT, SAT, and ACT. The best way to insure your child has the best vocabulary possible is to get them to read a great deal of classic books. If they prefer only reading modern books, then have them begin to alternate a modern book then a classic book. Have the child keep a vocabulary book journal to write down and study any new words they come across. In addition to reading, have the child study Latin or at least Latin and Greek word roots. This will expand their vocabulary exponentially.

Teach them to edit their writing to prepare for the SAT and ACT. When taking college entry tests, students will need to spot errors in sentences. By editing their own work and doing other editing exercises, your child will be better prepared for these tests. To learn how to edit, I recommend workbooks by the Critical Thinking Company, entitled "Editor in Chief".

Review math functions regularly. Many public and private school kids do poorly on the math section of the PSAT, SAT, and ACT, in spite of being in advanced math because they are out of practice in lower level math. Take a day once a week or bi weekly to review old math skills.

Make sure your child studies the appropriate high school math courses to prepare for these college entry exams. Pre-Algebra, Algebra and Geometry are necessary to take the PSAT, SAT, and ACT. Algebra 2 is also on the SAT. The ACT has Trigonometry questions on it. Therefore it is important to have studies Pre-Algebra through Geometry before taking the PSAT, then Algebra 2 should be studied before the SAT is attempted. If the student opts to that the ACT instead, they should study Trigonometry first. The standardized tests such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT are note required for homeschoolers until their junior year of high school, and even then, only if they plan to attend college.