By Cindy Kranz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sycamore High School student Kelly Spry goes through one of several practice SAT tests in preparation for the real thing on May 1. (Thomas E. Witte photo)

Kelly Spry is a Sycamore High School honor student who takes tough courses and plays varsity girls' basketball.

Starting mid-February, the busy 16-year-old junior will sandwich in three hours a week to attend her second set of SAT test preparation classes before the May 1 test. Her tools include two hefty Kaplan SAT prep books, 300 math and vocabulary flashcards and a CD-ROM for practice and review.

Kelly, of Blue Ash, hopes to attend college in Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana. Dartmouth is her "farfetched dream school." She wants to combine her love of Spanish with a career in political science or international relations.

"I need a good SAT score to get me there," Kelly said. "I always get nervous before tests. I think just the word - SAT - sends chills through everyone."

This high-stakes college exam culture takes center stage today when The Perfect Score opens at theaters nationwide. In the film, six high school students band together and develop a plan to steal SAT exam answers.

Chasing a high score - or even a highest-possible 1600 - is the source of tremendous pressure among students who have their hearts set on the college of their choice and a piece of the scholarship pie in the midst of skyrocketing tuition rates.

This testing frenzy has spawned an estimated $250 million test preparation industry that includes books, online tutorials and classroom courses or tutors that can cost more than $800.

The SAT is the most widely taken college entrance examination. It is designed to test skill level in math, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The ACT is designed to test skill levels in English, math, reading, and science reasoning.

About 1.4 million students took the SAT test in 2003. An average of 1,000 students receive a perfect score of 1600 each year.

But an SAT or ACT score is just one of several factors in college admission, according to admissions officials at five universities in Ohio and Kentucky. In fact, most said college exam scores are not at the top of the list when it comes to admitting students.

"The first thing (we look at) is how they did on their coursework in high school - the grades, the class rank, the difficulty of the courses," said Mabel Freeman, assistant vice president for undergraduate admissions at Ohio State University. "We won't make a decision without including the test score, but we want them to do well in high school," Freeman explained. "That's going to carry more weight."

At Xavier University, the No. 1 criterion is the combination of academic performance over four years and the rigor of the curriculum, said Marc Camille, dean of admission.

College tests "are not the strongest predictor for success, so we use them in conjunction with classroom performance; class rank and the essay," Camille said.

Scholarships, grants at stake

So, then, why all the stress?

"To get into some of the more prestigious colleges, they want the higher scores, and for many of the elite colleges, the students have to take the (SAT II) subject tests," said Judy Seymour, a Colerain High School guidance counselor. "Many times, the amount of money a student is awarded is based on their composite scores."

Jennifer Baumgardner was in exactly that kind of situation.

The 18-year-old Ryle High School senior wanted to attend the University of Kentucky to major in pre-nursing. She needed a 28 on her ACT or a 1240 on her SAT to earn a full-tuition scholarship.

Her choice of college was riding on her test score.

She took the ACT three times and fell one short each time - 27. She took the SAT in December, thinking she might qualify through that test. Her SAT score was 1230, 10 points short.

So she took the ACT a fourth time. For the first three, she prepared by using a CD from the Princeton Review, a test prep company, but her parents thought the test preparation stressed her out even more. This time, she didn't prepare and ended up with a 30, which earned her a full-tuition scholarship ($5,000 a year).

At other college preparatory schools, competition at Seven Hills Upper School is stiff to get into some of the elite schools or to keep up with friends.

"It is very stressful," said Emily Zemboch, a 16-year-old junior at the Madisonville academy."I feel like I'm not a good test taker. I feel like I have good common sense, but (the SAT) just doesn't tell who I am as a person."

Nonetheless, the reality is that she feels she must be prepared for the test she takes on March 27. She's working one-on-one with the Princeton Review on the verbal section and with a math tutor at school.

"We want our kid to be on par along with the next kid who is doing the preparation work," said her mother, Marilyn Zemboch of Amberley Village. "We don't want to say, 'What if we had done that?"'

Pressure's on

Zach Hurwitz, a 17-year-old Seven Hills senior, has several prestigious schools on his college wish list, including Brown University. For him, no words can describe the stress surrounding the SAT.

"The best way I dealt with the stress is to tell myself it doesn't measure intelligence,'' Zach said. "It measures achievement on these sorts of tests."

He's taken the SAT twice, most recently in December, when he scored 1520. But there's even more stress after the test, he said, recalling how he and his friends talked about their scores for two weeks.

The stress manifests itself in different ways.

Vince Rahnfeld, a Sycamore High School guidance counselor, sees a range of emotions, ranging from calm to those who are beside themselves with worry.

"The stress comes from parents wanting the best for their kids, and kids hoping to make a decision that, certainly at that point in their lives, could be one of the most important decisions they make," Rahnfeld said.

"There are some students and families who start getting worked up about it quite early," he said. "I try not to minimize the importance of it, but sort of refocus that anxiety. If you're anxious for months or years in front of that test, it becomes this giant Everest to climb."

In Freeman's mind, the stress over college exams is unnecessary.

"There's enough stress out in the world today," the OSU administrator said. "These kids are worried, I noticed from our applications, about terrorism. They're worried about getting jobs. This is a generation of kids that is worried."

Sample SAT test questions

1. Each question below consists of a related pair of words or phrases followed by five pairs of words or phrases labeled A through E. Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

CRUMB: BREAD

A. ounce: unit

B. splinter: wood

C. water: bucket

D. twine: rope

E. cream: butter

2. Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled A though E. Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Medieval kingdoms did not become constitutional republics overnight; on the contrary, the change was ____.

A. unpopular

B. unexpected

C. advantageous

D. sufficient

E. gradual

3. The school nurse at Pine Street High School surveyed the heights of all of the female students at the school. The median of the heights was 165 centimeters and the mode was 162 centimeters. Which of the following statements must be true?

A. The height of half of the female students is 165 centimeters.

B. The most frequently occurring height of the female students is 162 centimeters.

C. The average (arithmetic mean) of the heights of the female students is 163.5 centimeters.

D. More female students are 165 centimeters than 162 centimeters.

E. More female students are shorter than 165 centimeters than are taller than 165 centimeters.

ANSWERS:

1. B

2. E

3. B

Source: College Board

Test-taking tips

American College Testing and the College Board offer these suggestions for taking the SAT and ACT tests:

SAT

Know the test directions beforehand for all six question types.

Get familiar with the answer sheet. It has four pages, and you need to know what answers go where.

Answer easy questions first.

Guess smart. If you can rule out one or more answer choices for a multiple-choice question as definitely wrong, your chances of guessing the right answer improve.

Omit questions that you really have no idea how to answer.

Don't panic if you cannot answer every question. You can get an average score by answering about half of the questions correctly and omitting the rest.

Use your test book for scratch work.

Keep track of time. If you finish a section before time is called, check your answers.

ACT

Read the directions for each test carefully.

Pace yourself. The test time limits give nearly everyone enough time to answer all the questions.

Answer the easy questions first.

Use logic to answer difficult questions. Eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can, then make an educated guess.

Answer every question. Your ACT scores are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing.

Review your work.

Mark your answers neatly.

E-mail ckranz@enquirer.com