Middle English Literature Essays - English Reformation, Christianity

Center English Literature This period noteworthy - due to the significant change in the structure of society, which cleared path for another general public. Society presently contained Lords (aristocrats knights), the pastors, laborers and craftsmans (gifted specialists). Sheep cultivating - huge creation of fleece - and its exchange - prompted - recently developed working class yeoman - who got rich. Ladies were looked downward on, no property directly for them Church turned into an amazing foundation - ministers just proficient individuals as were picked as King's counselors. Through the ministry - church affected the legislature. Debasement at all degrees of chapel order. Journalists like Wycliff and his adherents (called as Lollards) arranged the ground for Reformation. Consequently England formed into a country of all inclusive significance in the 12 th , 13 th the fourteenth Centuries. Presently no longer Franco - Latin - Europe Period of Chaucer ( 1340 - 1400) ( generally ) Saw the progress from the medieval to the advanced it denotes the coming of another dialect and writing.

Nosferatu Opening sequence Essay Example

Nosferatu Opening succession Paper F.W Murnaus film Nosferatu begins with a frightful title succession, the foundation is dark with green composition and an ensemble of repulsions is playing out of sight. This permits the crowd to promptly perceive what sort of class the film will be, as dark is regularly connected with dim or malevolent and green is connected with something very vile or frequently beast like. Its likewise helps construct environment. As does the thumping in the music, as it builds it looks like a heart beat (something which you would anticipate from a blood and gore movie) At the point when the principal page of composing shows up it is in a book, this causes it to appear as though somebody is retelling a story. Also, the gothic style of composing gives another clue to the class of the film. The main real shot is a setting up shot of the humble community, as if the crowd is investigating someones life. The Irish shot lets the crowd center around that specific part or for another situation could be utilized to cause you to feel claustrophobic as if you can't see the entire picture. In the closer view is a congregation, this is typically an image of steadiness and request in the public arena this sets up the way this is the point at which the film is in harmony. We will compose a custom exposition test on Nosferatu Opening succession explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom article test on Nosferatu Opening grouping explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom article test on Nosferatu Opening grouping explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer In this sort of film, which is a quiet film, the crowd depends on music and words alone to recognize when something terrifying will occur or when something isn't. In the initial arrangement the music is carefree and sprightly, this makes the crowd mindful nothing stunning will occur (yet) and feel comfort at this specific point. Later on while thump is perusing the letter he was sent from the Count the music turns out to be all the more compromising. This successfully bothers the crowd. Another key factor in Nosferatu is the shading color in every scene, Yellow speaks to light and ideologically is a marker that everything is great as of now. In Nosferatu the yellowish shading shows up for the most part nearby the cheerful music for instance while Hutter is preparing in the first part of the day and welcome his significant other. During a similar scene Hutter gives his better half a few blossoms, yet she is vexed on the grounds that he has murdered the lovely blossoms and cut them off from their life source. This is something critical to consider on the grounds that the blossoms are dead and that may likewise be her fait. Mena (the spouse) is wearing pale dress; this features her honesty and shortcoming. Likewise it makes her an objective for the Count. (As in numerous Vampire films) The following scene when Knock is perusing his letter from the Count, it tends to be seen that a skull and cross bones shows up on it, this is a certain image of awful and may be the beginning stage to the disequilibrium since it presents the possibility of the Count going to the town. What's more, in this specific shot, F.W Murnau positions Knock higher than Hutter to show that he is better than him, ideologically thump has the ability to utilize Hutter to draw casualties to the tally. Nosferatu was made at the hour of the first universal war; this is huge to the substance of the film on the grounds that Murnau would have included things normally as it was genuine to him. For instance he saw a great deal of well-trained during the war. Also which comes later in Nosferatu, the plague is believed to be the reason for the abrupt passings in the town that have happened as of late and, all things considered, at the time there was an ailment about called Typhoid which could be connected to him utilizing this thought in the film.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks Essay

This exceptionally flighty 1993 novel by grant winning Faulks, centers around the Battle of the Somme, celebrated essentially because of the loss of 58,000 British soldiers. The landscape is delineated so unmistakably that the perusers will feel as if they are really there, seeing the mangled, bizarre bodies, all because of the horrible war. The story starts in the place of Azaire, in France, 1910. 20-year-old Englishman Stephen Wraysford is remaining there, while becoming familiar with the materials business. He experiences passionate feelings for Isabelle, Monsieur Azaire’s spouse, who is 9 years Stephens junior. Notwithstanding the age contrast they have intercourse bountiful occasions, and before long flee together to a substitute piece of the nation. Be that as it may, Isabelle falls pregnant and feels pressurized and confounded, so escapes to the arms of her senior sister, Jeanne. Stephen came back from work and acknowledged she had gone, without realizing he was destined to be the dad of a small kid. Following a couple of days the versatile character acknowledged she was rarely returning, and he disregarded his first love totally. The following scene happens during the Battle of the Somme, where Stephen having had great instruction, was elevated quickly to an official. He is regularly alluded to as being ‘strange’ by his kindred men, of whom didn’t consistently admire the unfeeling, disengaged character. Stephen phenomenally endures two years of substantial fights, and he gets controlled by a mysteriously solid will to endure On leave, he finds Isabelle’s senior sister Jeanne in the town of Amiens, and step by step develops a relationship with the lady. She clarifies that Isabelle had come back to Azaire yet as of late met a German called Max of whom she went gaga for. She consented to let Stephen visit her, as she was sick subsequent to being harmed by a shell. The book goes ahead so as to 1978, where Stephen’s granddaughter Elizabeth is attempting to discover progressively about her daring granddad. She makes visit outings to see a man, Brennan, who battled in the war with Stephen. She had numerous note pads that once had a place with Stephen, all written in uncommon code. Elizabeth got a companion to examine the books and in the long run he figured out the code. Elizabeth believed that Jeanne was her grandma, yet her own mom, Francoise, at long last admitted to her that her grandma was really Isabelle, the sister of Jeanne. On leaving the war Stephen wedded Jeanne, and Isabelle and Max both passed on, leaving the recently marry couple to raise Francoise. Stephen is an amazingly acceptable character, who had a disillusioning childhood, leaving him to be very much a ‘loner’. He has no companions or family, and doesn’t get a letter until the finish of the war, which is from Jeanne. At the finish of the war him and Jack Firebrace are caught underground, thus Stephen makes a blast to draw in the consideration of his kindred men. Shockingly, the Germans hear the clamor, and night-time of looking, they find the man. I discovered this the most energizing and fascinating piece of the book, and was alleviated when the Germans grasped Stephen and gave him water to fix his lack of hydration. It was extraordinary hearing the expressions, ‘the war is over’. The title, ‘Birdsong’, doesn’t lead the crowd to think it is a war novel, as a birdsong is a sweet, blameless, sound that catches ones heart. Nonetheless, all through the novel, Stephen alludes to the commotions of fowls he hears. Subsequent to having intercourse to Isabelle just because, he lies in complete fulfillment tuning in to the winged animals. Likewise, toward the finish of the war, he returns over the ground with some new German companions, to be welcomed by the sweet tune of flying creatures. When composing this I accept that Faulks’ aims were to illuminate individuals regarding what is resembled to be a trooper in the Battle of the Somme, and he effectively did as such by delivering a precise record of what it resembled. I felt completely the fatigue and madness that the troopers more likely than not felt and it caused me to acknowledge somewhat exactly what they experienced. This engaging yet illuminating book is an exemplary that I will always remember, albeit maybe a piece excessively long. This holding, moving life-changing book interested me and I especially prescribe it to those that discovered history exercises dreary, however need to find out about the Battle of the Somme.

An analysis of why economic sanctions are good Essay Example for Free

An investigation of why monetary authorizations are acceptable Essay An individual may make abhorrent others by his activities as well as by his inaction, and in either case he is fairly responsible to them for the injury. John Mills Or on the other hand Senator John Kerry once said We should retool our country to get ready for the test we as of now face to keep up our situation in the worldwide economy. What's more, this much is sure: America won't have national security without financial security. In this manner, I nullify the goals that: Settled: Economic approvals should not to be utilized to accomplish international strategy destinations Definitions: Monetary Sanctions-Economic punishments, for example, stoppage of exchange and money related exchanges, forced upon a nation to drive consistence with another countrys or UNs or WTOs requests. (businessdictionary.com) Should used to communicate commitment. International strategy the arrangement of a sovereign state in its communication with other sovereign states. Destinations : a point, objective, or end of activity. (If there should arise an occurrence of argumentation identifying with resolve not bound to U.S.A) Sovereign-one that practices preeminent authority inside a constrained circle. Every unknown definition are from Merriam Webster Basic belief: Societal Welfare-What is best for the greater part of society Worth Criterion-The neg will win in the event that I can demonstrate that financial authorizations are a beneficial technique to accomplish international strategy targets. In any case, the aff will win if, and just on the off chance that he can demonstrate something else C1: Smart monetary authorizations are expected to force remote pioneers. The goals requires a general prohibition on monetary authorizes in managing international strategy targets. One of the principal contentions against sanctions is the damage they may conceivably bring. In any case, these potential damages are for the most part caused the burden of wide, wide-extending sanctions. In any case, not all authorizations are unsafe there are acceptable assents. The approvals in the 21st century are focused on and limited, not general. One of the normal reactions of monetary assents is that they have harmed non military personnel populaces before. The issue with this line of thinking is that it accept that there is just one sort of assent to utilize, and that this kind of authorizing must essentially hurt regular citizens. Most nations presently comprehend that wide, unpredictable assent utilize might be counterproductive, so they take a more intelligent, custom fitted way to deal with monetary approvals that make authorizes bound to accomplish their approach destinations. Numerous nations presently tailor their approvals to explicit merchandise. For instance, numerous nations place explicit endorses on opiates related things or on materials that could be utilized to make weapons. These custom fitted authorizes still permit regular people to meet their fundamental needs, yet in addition make it with the goal that rebel states can't utilize their material assets to bring about additional damage. Also, monetary approvals are presently being utilized to freeze resources and cutoff the movement of high positioning state authorities, which puts compel just on them to change their countrys arrangements. These keen approvals make an open door for change without the damages that happened from past authorizations. A different line of contention for the Neg is the tool kit contention: that the Affirmative would expel basic apparatuses, including focused on sanctions, from the administrations removal. This would prompt a subsequent difficulty, this time for the Affirmative: without the carrot and stick of monetary assents, the legislature is left with a plume of non-financial approvals and the grisly spike of war. C2: Economic assents are important international strategy apparatuses So what are the options in contrast to sanctions? More strategy and military activity. These have the issue of being two limits implying that there should be something in the center. Tact is the most evident other option. It would be stunning if all international strategy goals could be met just by tact yet with conflicting interests, this is never going to occur in all cases. Numerous nations, especially autocracies however regularly likewise majority rule governments, for example, the US, feel they can simply overlook tact in the event that it isn't sponsored up by anything over a verbal lashing. Discretion needs something backing it up. Right now this is the danger of some type of assent (be it direct financial authorizations or progressively aberrant be diminishing the open doors for that nations firms to work in your market) or military activity or some likeness thereof. Utilizing military activity as a danger can be outrageous. How would you move among discretion and on to military activity without something in the center to show how genuine your nation is? In the event that a nation doesn't accept your dangers, and you dont truly need to assault him you must be the one to withdraw. Giving monetary approvals makes a method of harming him without setting off to the more awful stage which is military activity. Military activity is the undeniable hard option in contrast to sanctions. Anyway it isn't generally conceivable. This could be a direct result of household governmental issues or in light of the fact that there is other critical on-screen characters in the universal framework who might respond negatively to you taking part in military activity, or probably the outcomes may be excessively extreme. There are many issues with military activity separated from that it cant consistently be utilized because of governmental issues. The most clear is that it is an enormous advance up from strategy. The nation you are going to assault needs to have planned something genuine for have the option to legitimize an assault. Regardless of whether it is legitimate there are issues. Military activity depends upon your nation being ground-breaking and having the option to participate in military activity while anybody can actualize some type of authorizations and it is exorbitant. This isn't just obviously as far as financial expense to your nation yet in addition in lives lost and decimated. There can likewise me numerous unintended outcomes. You can plan the activity to be a little police activity however there is no assurance that your adversary will see it that way so he may well strike back raising towards full scale war. At the other extraordinary your activities my push a nation towards self-destructing and turning into a bombed state. Indeed it gives an extremely useful asset to changing a states conduct however a great many people would accept that it does not merit keeping the chance of military activity while disposing of authorizations. Dispose of both and you basically have no stick by any stretch of the imagination. States don't generally react to carrots you have to give a large enough carrot that they can do without a national enthusiasm all things considered. On account of two interests being oppositely contradicted then this expense could be colossal. C3: Violation of Human Rights Common privileges of residents are childishly abused by degenerate pioneers of governments. This effects not just the characteristic privileges of residents from different nations; it additionally influences the regular privileges of their own residents. a. Residents of nations persecuted by monetary assents endure when expected aid ventures are stifled by their own administration catching supplies. The residents are never the objective, but instead the practices of degenerate pioneers. Normal privileges of residents are denied when a degenerate head interferes with the agreeable relations and it gets important to force sanctions. Further, I expand my VPC in that when the naturals privileges of different countries are encroached upon by these degenerate heads, political defense requests discipline at all ruinous way after discretion has fizzled. b. Residents are advocated to request their regular rights which are being denied to them by the very government which should secure them. At the point when degenerate pioneers surrender to fairness and coordinate, the assents leave. Approvals are just an authentic type of discipline to accomplish a characterized and adequate code of conduct. Normal privileges of residents are denied when a degenerate head intrudes on the agreeable relations and it gets important to force sanctions. Further, I expand my VPC in that when the naturals privileges of different countries are encroached upon by these degenerate heads, political support requests discipline at all dangerous way after tact has fizzled. Conceivable Rebuttal: Albeit cautious investigations of financial authorizations have given occasion to feel qualms about their adequacy, 1 account can be amazing explanatory devices. A solitary significant case that exhibits sanctions potential permits promoters to contend that their motivation is more much the same as the accomplishment than to the disappointments. As often as possible, advocates point to the instance of authorizations applied in the mid-1980s against the politically-sanctioned racial segregation system in South Africa as simply such a case. Apparently, South African assents seem to have been fruitful. In light of the shock of politically-sanctioned racial segregation, numerous nations received exchange and budgetary assents and a lot of outside venture was pulled back from South Africa. After the appropriation of assents, South Africa experienced monetary trouble and various household on-screen characters remarked on how the financial circumstance was indefensible and required political change. By 1994, Nelson Mandela had been chosen President of South Africa. He and other dark pioneers credited to monetary authorizations a noteworthy job in achieving the fair change.

Comprehensive Examination Responses Presented in Partial Fulfillment Research Paper

Far reaching Examination Responses Presented in Partial Fulfillment - Research Paper Example Distinguish and dissect the issues related with test determination, legitimacy, and inclination in such an examination. Contextual investigation A contextual investigation is one of the strategies utilized in subjective research. The improvement of the contextual analysis technique occurred during the 1880s and it has since been utilized in practically all fields of study. It is additionally the most favored examination strategy since it expels the wide hole among hypothesis and practice. As indicated by Toloie-Eshlaghy, Chitsaz, Karimian, and Charkhchi (2011), a contextual investigation is exploratory and utilizes the subtleties of a genuine wonder to test into explicit social issues important to the specialists. A contextual analysis incorporates a genuine circumstance with genuine individuals and occasions occurring in a genuine domain, which gives analysts a feeling of the realities as they are, in actuality. Likewise, the data utilized for a situation study is controlled to give genuine insights concerning the spot, individuals, and events of a specific area. This empowers analysts to complete their exercises in referenc e to a genuine circumstance. A contextual investigation is along these lines viewed as a composed bit of research on a specific occasion with the point of clarifying a particular wonder. A contextual analysis is regularly utilized in social research to empower a specialist to complete a hypothetical thought. Moreover, a contextual investigation might be utilized to show explore understudies how to embrace inquire about in a powerful way and along these lines go about as an examination apparatus to coordinate hypothesis and practice. ... The various highlights of a contextual investigation incorporate its utilization of various strategies for gathering information to assemble data with respect to explicit events, its attention on a particular subject and the profundity to which the subject of center is examined. The fundamental point of utilizing the contextual investigation look into technique is to portray the causative connections between wonders, all things considered, since it will in general be profound instead of broad in its examinations (Breslin and Buchanan, 2008). Contextual analyses are along these lines additionally used to assess the impacts of specific intercessions presented in given situations and can thusly be utilized as an instrument to prescribe answers for issues confronting associations, in actuality. As an examination instrument, a contextual investigation is exploratory and unmistakable, and gives case guides to understudies to upgrade their down to earth look into abilities. Be that as it ma y, the real change from hypothesis to rehearse requires various assets, some of which might be out of the students’ reach. The utilization of a contextual investigation in the depiction of wonders, in actuality, is constrained to the information on the situation under examination (Toloie-Eshlaghy, Chitsaz, Karimian, and Charkhchi, 2011). This is on the grounds that a contextual analysis depends on data in regards to specific marvels to draw surmisings on causal relations, however without satisfactory data, the contextual investigation would not be compelling. A contextual analysis in this manner utilizes various techniques for gathering information to give satisfactory, important and accurate data in regards to events, in actuality, and offers specialists a reason for the examination. With such data, it is conceivable to draw an example showing the connection between one subject and the other and

Bubbles and UROPs

Bubbles and UROPs OK, so were going to follow up on this white water rapids question. Some interesting theories have been tossed around, and Id like to discuss them, because I have nothing better to do with my life. First off, super biology queen Mollie says, Im sure at least some of the foam is due to proteins and oils sloughed off the skin of the people on the slides when you shake up a water/protein solution (for example, by sending water + people goo down a water slide at high speed), you get bubbles. This is similar to Shannons comment, which suggested that the chlorine in the water might have something to do with it. Now, I know Mollies onto something, because thats definitely true. But you can witness this white water phenomenon all the time- when no ones used the slide for 15 hours, in pool water, in salt water, in fresh water, in the ocean, where Im sure that a bunch of people going to the beach isnt enough to supply the whole damn ocean with enough sloughed proteins to make every single wave crest white. Plus, there arent any sloughed skin cells in my drinking water (I hope) when I turn the faucet on high to fill a glass, but the white foam appears anyway. Id be willing to bet that th e type of water and the things in it (salt, chlorine, oils) play some kind of role in how pronounced the foam is or how long it sticks around, but that cant be the whole story. Of course, Dan is completely right when he says that air bubbles get into the water, causing the foam. But why is it white? Thats my question here. Shannons going in the right direction when she starts talking about optics: Wait, how about this since water generally reflects color (blue on sunny days, grey on cloudy ones), and the bubbles are thin layers of water on almost every side, maybe its just the overload of colors that its exposed to on all those sides. White is all the colors combined, right? I just remember it as the opposite of paint. Now I think weve got it. Only, Im not sure it has anything to do with what the water is actually surrounded by. A single bubble is iridescent, right? You can see streaks of all different colors in it, because of the way light refracts when it passes through the thin film of water. Remember- a green streak absorbs all of the light except green- thats whats being reflected back to your eye. If something is white, that means all of the light is reflected. So I imagine that when you have a bunch of really small bubbles next to each other, all of those colors combine to give white light reflected back. Maybe. It still seems like a stretch to me, but its the best Ive got. Responses to Comments: Anna asked: Are there any IKEA stores (the Swedish furniture store chain) anywhere in the Boston/ Cambridge area? Hopefully (crosses fingers)Ill get into MIT, and if I do, I need a place to buy inexpensive yet quality home stuff; or are most dorms already furnished? (Sorry for the weird question). OK, there is totally an IKEAsomewherenearby. I know this because my awesome floor planned an IFAF (or almost planned an IFAF?) to visit the nearby IKEA with another floor. Justfor fun. Or something. Anyway, so I know there is one somewhere, but Im not sure where. So I asked Sam, who said, There is an IKEA somewhere in Boston. It just recently opened. I dont know where, exactly, but its on the green line. So it wont take you more than 30 45 minutes to drive there. Its important to note that your dorm will come with a bed, desk, chair, and closest/dresser, but like Anthony says, sometimes some extra light is nice. Anna asked: Many colleges let students pay for part of their tuition through on-campus jobs. Does MIT have any interesting jobs of this nature (such as laboratory work, research, or other science-related jobs, etc). Have you or anyone else you know had some sort of experience with this? If so, how does one go about applying to these? This ties in nicely with what SUchi asked: Question: How ample are research oppurtunities for those whose major is not scientific? Like, what if I were to major in eco.? If youve been keeping up with the financial aid information that youve been sent (which can be really hard, so now worries), youll know that MIT requires each student to contribute a certain amount to their own education each year. (Check out the Making MIT Affordable pamphlet for more information.) This number was $5,500 per year, but then something happened where MIT decided to match Federal Pell Grants, which for many lucky students (like me! =) lowered their total self-help. At least, I think thats how it happened. In any case, the point is that youll be responsible for some amount (less than or equal to $5,500 per year) towards your own tutition. You should have already sent in a form detailing how much of that you plan to earn and how much you plan to borrow. (But dont worry, those numbers are completely flexible, so you can always change them if your financial/employment situation changes.) There are plenty of jobs to be had on campus. You can be a dorm desk worker, an admissions office worker, a library assistant, and a million other things. Of course, if thats not cool enough for you (but really, who doesnt want to work for this guy?), you can always be a lab rat. I mean scientist. =) UROPs are plentiful- just check out Meliss blog for a whole bunch of cool projects people have worked on. In my experience, everyone who has wanted a UROP has found one, one way or the other. Of course, some projects and labs are much more popular than others, so you may not to get exactly the position you want, but you should be able to find something. At MIT, theres research into everything. If youre specifically talking about econ, check out their research page and browse. Its good advice for any topic that youre interested in- after checking the employment listings and the UROP webpage, just surf around the MIT site. From the main page for each department you can usually find a research page pretty easily. Dont be shy about just emailing professors and asking them about their work- thats how Mollie got her job.

Great to Good The Diluted Value of High Test Scores

When admission letters came in last spring, there was more head-scratching than usual among counselors and families. Much of the discussion revolved around how unpredictable things seemed, especially when it came to test scores. With the release of class of 2018 results from both ACT and College Board, we can now say definitively that students saw the most competitive scores ever. In the last 10 years, the number of students scoring 14001600 on the SAT or 3136 on the ACT doubled. In just the last 5 years, the number of students scoring 15001600 or 3436 has doubled. Compass has examined, in-depth, how this trend has been shaped, why it accelerated in 2018, and what impact it has on admissions. A big shift in the SAT The SAT regained momentum last year, and once more became the most popular—if that’s the right word—admission test. The story that has been overlooked is the surge in top scores. In the class of 2017, College Board reported 85,000 students scored between 1400 and 1600. For the class of 2018, 145,000 fell in this range—a 71% jump in a single year! While the size of last year’s change was unusual, its direction was not. The increase fits a historical trend for both the SAT and ACT that shows no signs of abating. Students, parents, counselors, and even admission offices, may need to reconsider their confidence about what a â€Å"great† score is. A high score is no less of an achievement from an academic standpoint, but it is an achievement shared by a wider set of students. It has become more difficult to distinguish oneself with high scores. A note about â€Å"high scorers† or â€Å"top scores. College Board stopped reporting the number of students at each point along the scale. Instead, we must make do with ranges—1400 to 1600 for total score and 700 to 800 for Math and Evidenced-based Reading Writing (ERW). ACT does still produce figures for each composite and section score. In some cases, though, it is easiest to use the 31 to 36 range of composite scores because it best aligns with the 1400 to 1600 range on the SAT. A real world example UC Berkeley is one of the most competitive schools in the country and provides context because it—along with the other University of California campuses—publishes applicant and admission data by score range. The state and national trends we are seeing are reflected in Berkeley’s statistics. The number of applicants with SAT ERW and SAT Math scores at 700800 approximately doubled last year. While it is true that some of that change is a reflection of overall SAT and applicant growth, the percentage of applicants in the top score range also increased. As shown below, the percentage of students with Math scores at or above 700 went from 41% of applicants in 2017 to 56% of applicants in 2018. Nor was the change limited to applicants. Admitted students fell in the top range 54% of the time in the fall 2017 cycle, but 70% of the time in the 2018 cycle. ACT scores at Berkeley have also seen a steady uptick. Below is a graph over the last five years of the percentage of ACT applicants who have scores in the highest band of composite scores, 3136. The whole hides the parts News stories about SAT and ACT data tend to focus on the overall figures—total test takers or average scores. This approach masks shifts in test results and test taker behavior—particularly at the â€Å"tails† of the score distributions. For example, if the number of low-scoring and high-scoring students increase by equal numbers, the mean score may not move at all. Between 2008 and 2018, the average ACT composite score went from 21.1 to 20.8, an insignificant change. Yet nine times as many students achieved a 36 in 2018. Two very different trends help explain this divergence. In recent years, College Board and ACT have focused on selling statewide testing.   By having every student participate, states have brought college awareness and preparedness to wide swaths of students. As a group, students who test only because they are required to test score lower than students who opt-in. High scoring test takers are more likely to be free agents, deciding on the best test based on individual preferences. These students have become savvy consumers, and don’t feel the need to follow labels such as â€Å"ACT state† versus â€Å"SAT state.† They are increasingly likely to consider both tests and, in many cases, take both tests. Informed test choice often allows them to start at a higher point versus a coin flip decision and may allow them to make progress more quickly. Where were the high scorers? State-mandated testing explains why Illinois and Colorado come out on top in SAT taker growth. An additional 186,000 students took the SAT in those states in the class of 2018, because both states switched from funding the ACT for all students to funding the SAT for all students. The two states had a more muted impact on high scorers, accounting for just one-tenth of the increase in top scores. Free agent states such as California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts made up much of the rest. International students also played a large role in the shake-up of scores at the high end. An additional 9,077 international students scored in the 14001600 range in the class of 2018, despite the fact that there were only an additional 28,568 SAT test takers. The students who chose to take the SAT expected to do well, and they did. Below is the data for all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and international. State1400-1600 Scores (2017)1400-1600 Scores (2018)1400-1600 Scores (Chg)1400-1600 (% Chg)Testers (2017)Testers (2018)Testers (Chg)Testers (% Chg) California9,33120,79911,468123%226,699262,22835,52916% International13,18922,2669,07769%112,901141,46928,56825% New York4,98210,5985,616113%135,141162,55127,41020% Illinois1,8886,5594,671247%12,402145,919133,5171077% New Jersey2,8437,4634,620163%72,17384,67212,49917% Texas6,74610,3773,63154%204,409226,37421,96511% Pennsylvania3,4845,6232,13961%89,21896,7407,52208% Massachusetts3,9536,0752,12254%56,02459,3823,35806% Florida4,0715,8471,77644%147,058176,74629,68820% Virginia3,4505,1791,72950%57,45361,5764,12307% Maryland2,2473,8431,59671%42,88948,0405,15112% Colorado9612,4671,506157%5,89658,79052,894897% Georgia2,1323,5481,41666%63,80574,24010,43516% North Carolina2,0553,3911,33665%49,59554,9875,39211% Washington2,0483,1911,14356%43,91148,5744,66311% Michigan3,2734,2761,00331%110,082115,2815,19905% Connecticut2,1403,09795745%43,25244,7001,44803% Ohio1,8562,46160533%14,54522,9928,44758% Indiana1,5462,06652034%45,62248,9623,34007% Arizona1,3131,78947636%20,46620,188-278-01% Oregon8821,22934739%15,86617,4761,61010% South Carolina7511,08133044%22,29225,3903,09814% New Hampshire69289920730%14,75814,8347601% Hawaii33648314744%7,3527,88052807% Minnesota70083313319%2,0612,46440320% Tennessee76789713017%3,4954,18168620% Delaware30942611738%10,06011,05599510% District of Columbia28340011741%4,8014,98518404% Rhode Island31542611135%7,20510,1612,95641% Louisiana3384349628%1,6962,02733120% Maine4085019323%13,82614,31048404% Missouri6026959315%1,9902,42043022% New Mexico2092958641%2,3423,22588338% Alabama3634417821%2,3932,87848520% Nevada3754527721%6,2455,588-657-11% Alaska1131826961%2,9713,33436312% Kentucky4124756315%1,6081,92531720% Kansas3514146318%1,1991,41922018% Vermont2272896227%4,3034,3232000% Wisconsin6026615910%1,7801,92314308% Idaho4154655012%18,75720,4841,72709% West Virginia1171594236%2,4065,0582,652110% Puerto Rico43823991%2,9133,78387030% Arkansas2002383819%1,0651,59152649% Utah2783143613%1,2771,42514812% South Dakota45742964%2372602310% Montana1101342422%990952-38-04% Iowa2773002308%86199413315% Wyoming24452188%1441692517% Oklahoma3283461805%2,7763,33756120% Mississippi1801961609%7168069013% North Dakota38481026%1231482520% Virgin Islands97-2-22%752635-117-16% Nebraska199187-12-06%680688801% The Curious Case of California Last year California became, for the first time ever, the largest market for both the SAT and ACT. The states sheer size is not the only reason it provides a useful case study. California has never had state-mandated or state-funded college admission testing, and its test taker population is highly diverse. The case of California shows how test taker behavior played a role in the rise of high scores. In Californias class of 2017, there was actually a decline in the number of students in the top tier of scores. These students defected to the ACT. With the class of 2018, those students returned. And they brought their friends! The number of students scoring above 1400 on the SAT more than doubled in a single year. This flow out and back in is why Compass does not believe that the increase in top scores can be attributed solely to score inflation, an â€Å"easier† test, or more effective preparation. Many top scorers in the class of 2017 chose to avoid the uncertainty of the new SAT when they drew up their testing plans. For some, this meant squeezing in an old SAT before it disappeared. For others, it meant switching to a known commodity, the ACT. And for still others, it meant trying multiple test types. Don’t percentiles give an accurate accounting? Percentiles can be a useful way of describing test score distribution. They are, though, a lagging indicator. The figures shown on the class of 2018’s SAT score reports were based on the performance of students in the class of 2017. Percentiles were misleadingly optimistic—a high scoring student’s actual rank within the class of 2018 would have been lower than projected. Even upcoming SAT reports will show percentiles that understate the number of high scores. College Board will be reporting percentiles based on both the classes of 2017 and 2018 (it is phasing in the use of a 3-year running average). While basing percentiles off of two or three class years can smooth out minor ups and downs, the policy makes less sense when the trajectory is always in one direction. We won’t have full data on the class of 2019’s performance for another 11 months, but it will certainly be higher than what the percentiles indicate. Percentiles also do not reflect the impact of highest score or superscoring policies. Compass frequently encounters the misperception that standardized scores are always normally distributed about a mean. In fact, the scale is only meant to ensure that a 700 or a 33 means the same thing in one year as it does in the next. The distribution changes every year.   It is not designed so that the same number of students earn a certain score each year. That’s why any rule-of-thumb take on a good or great score can be outdated as soon as it is given. If scores become too clumped at the high end, a concern is that they will be less useful in distinguishing students or in predicting performance in college. From a student’s viewpoint, any mistake becomes more costly as score groups become more populated. [For optimistic students, any gain becomes more valuable!] Imagine a student in the class of 2017 who expected to score a 750 Math, but instead scored a 700. The shortfall would have put an additional 70,000 students ahead of her. Transplant that student to the class of 2018, and she would have seen closer to 120,000 students pass her—that is even before considering highest score or superscore policies. As the controversy over the June SAT demonstrated, even 2 or 3 missed problems can easily drop a student 50 points. It is understandable why students sometimes feel that they are on a knife’s edge. An easier experience Compass does not believe that the defection/re-adoption theory explains the entirety of the change in high scores on the SAT. The class of 2018 faced fewer obstacles than had the class of 2017. The new SAT is, loosely speaking, the only SAT the class of 2018 ever knew. They took the new PSAT as sophomores, repeated it as juniors, and all of their SAT scores are on the new exam. There was less noise around SAT versus ACT and more signal. Students could make optimal decisions without feeling like guinea pigs in a College Board experiment. They could test early or late without worrying about the change from old SAT to new. As more information became available for the SAT, they were better prepared than the class of 2017. In short, the class of 2018 didn’t necessarily face an easier test; they faced an easier experience. An accounting change The old SAT introduced an odd accounting problem for College Board. Its 2017 report included only students who took the new SAT. This excluded students who finished up their testing with the old SAT. Because that group skews toward high-performing students, the 14001600 total of 85,000 students likely undercounted top scores in the class of 2017 by 5,00010,000. This helps explain why the 2017 figure was so low. The source of the high score surge is not entirely academic. The concordance of SAT and ACT scores was based on the performance of class of 2017 students who took both exams. If the class of 2018 differed significantly from the class of 2017, then the concordance is less accurate—at least at the high end of the scale. Wouldnt an increase in SAT numbers be offset by a decrease in ACT numbers? An additional buyer of a Ford pick-up means one less buyer of a Chevy or Ram. The same cannot be said about the SAT. Many high-scoring students have â€Å"discovered† the ACT and added it to their portfolios rather than switching to it exclusively. The increase in top scores on the ACT slowed with the class of 2018, but it did not reverse, despite an overall drop of 176,000 test takers. The role of dual testing Taking both the SAT and ACT has played a role in the growth of high scores. It has added to the total number of tests taken by high scorers and allowed them to rack up more top scores. However, a student has only one best score (even a concordant tie means a single score can summarize things). This leads to some double-counting of high scores, something not unique to the class of 2018. For example, a student with a 33 ACT receives no benefit from having scored a 1420 on the SAT, even though the latter score would count in College Board’s figures. Neither College Board nor ACT report on cross testing. In fact, they don’t even have direct access to this data, as both must adhere to privacy restrictions. Based on data from competitive colleges, we estimate that approximately one-third of high scoring students take both exams at least once. This trend does not mean that students are at a disadvantage if they only focus on one test. It is difficult to be fully and equally prepared for two admission tests. What is important is that students increasingly consider both tests and try to find the optimal path. What about the most exceptional scores? Most of the discussion above has been about students in the 14001600 range because College Board has stopped reporting the number of students at each score point. Historical SAT trends and current ACT trends indicate that change at the very highest scores is even more extreme. While the number of ACT scorers at 31 or higher was only up slightly in the class of 2018, for example, the number of perfect scorers spiked by 36%. The top percentile of ACT scores has moved up a full point in the last 5 years. For each of the last 15 years, growth in the most elite scores has outpaced the already significant growth in great scores. Supersized scores Despite the gaudy growth numbers this year, the data actually understate the number of top scorers in one way. In their reported figures, College Board and ACT use a student’s most recent test performance. A student scoring a 1450 in June and then a 1420 in October would have been counted as a 1420. Since most colleges consider the best performance or participate in Score Choice, this student would have shown up as (at least) a 1450 scorer in admission offices. A large number of competitive colleges now superscore SAT results. A superscore combines a student’s best Evidence-based Reading performance with her best Math performance, even if the scores come from separate sittings.Research from College Board indicates that â€Å"most recent† accounting is, for students who take the SAT more than once, approximately 20 points lower than â€Å"highest single administration† scoring and 30 points lower than superscoring. The more students repeat the exams, the hi gher this figure grows. High-scoring students tend to repeat the SAT and ACT more than low-scoring students, so the impact of repeat testing is magnified at the upper levels. About two-thirds of re-testers have superscores that are higher than their best single administration scores. Compass estimates that highest combined and superscoring policies increase the number of students in the top score ranges by 1520%. While College Board may report that 145,000 students scored 14001600 in the class of 2018, college applications likely reflected at least 170,000 students in that range. ACT reports 135,000 students in the 3136 range. A real world estimate would be closer to 160,000. Isn’t this all just score inflation related to the new SAT? College Board completely overhauled the SAT in March 2016. By comparing how a pilot group of students performed when taking both old and new SATs, a concordance was developed between the two exams. Overall, the concordance showed—and further studies confirmed—that scores were higher on the new SAT. However, the changes seen in 2018 are separate from that score restructuring. Using the structure and scoring of the new SAT to explain this year’s developments has several flaws: The class of 2017 report is based on new SAT data. Score inflation should have already been accounted for. Score inflation decreases at the high end of the range. While a student scoring 9001100 on the old test would be likely to score 80 to 100 points higher on the new exam, the same cannot be said for students at 14001600. In fact, there is little difference at all above about 1450. The old SAT and the ACT have had an increasing number of high scoring students for many years. The trend is real; 2018 is an outlier because of the scale of the change, but it fits well with the overall pattern. What will happen for the class of 2019? The trend of more students reaching the top tiers is unlikely to reverse. Early indications, though, are that the giant leaps seen last year will not be repeated. PSAT scores can serve as a leading indicator of score changes. While the class of 2018 saw large changes at the top end of PSAT scores, the class of 2019’s PSAT results showed modest increases. Early SAT dates reflect small average improvements for this year’s class. As noted previously, though, average scores can mask changes in high and low scores. None of the available figures indicate that the number of top scores will decline. High score growth on the ACT also continues. While it slowed this year, that was partly the result of an overall decline due to lost state contracts. We expect the class of 2019 to show increases, particularly for elite scores. At the most competitive colleges, high test scores can be viewed as â€Å"necessary but not sufficient.† It is extremely difficult to gain admission to Stanford with a low SAT score, but getting a great score is far from a guarantee of admission. The net effect of the growth at the top ranges is to make a high score more essential but less sufficient. After the dust settles each April, we often hear that â€Å"this was the worst year ever.† For 2018, that assessment feels fair. ACT and SAT scores at colleges have trended up over time, but it’s not simply higher scores that create anxiety—it’s also the added unpredictability. The combination of increased applicant numbers at competitive colleges and a higher percentage of top scores magnify the uncertainty that students experience. Fortunately, hundreds of thousands of students who experienced this anxiety last April are off and thriving at college and looking forward to homecoming. And 2019 will be the worst year ever, until it isn’t.