asta Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 (edited) So here is the situation: Kid took college level bio for non-majors. He then went through the ENTIRE spark notes Bio program AND the College Board subject exam book. He scored in the high 700s on everything (as in 770, 780). We pay our money, he gets his entrance ticket, and he goes to take the subject exam. He shows up at the testing station and no one 1) knows who he is 2) has him written down to take anything at all. They give him a bio exam anyway. We wait for the scores to come out online, like everyone else. His score is exactly at the median. EXACTLY. For kid to have gotten this score, he would have to have missed fully half of the test (given how they do 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full points). Here's the thing: kid has a photographic memory for written things. He came out of that test telling me exactly what questions he knew he missed because the particular subject/question wasn't covered in his preparation. Even given that he would have obviously made errors in other questions, there is still no way it would have added up to HALF of the test. So I wrote to College Board, gave them $50, and asked them for a hand scoring & report. They respond to me that I'll have the answer within 5 weeks. Five weeks passed. Seven weeks passed. Finally, I called them. What did I get? "Um, what is his name again?" Please hold. "What is his birthdate again?" Please hold. "What is his address again?" Please hold. "And where, exactly did he take this exam?" Please hold. Finally, "um, could you tell us his log-in to the SAT site?" Please hold. "It appears that your son got the exact same score. We mailed you a letter to this effect on 7 August. Thank you for calling College Board." Well, I finally got that letter (in an UNsealed envelope) today. The letter is dated 14 August, and the postmark is 25 August. What does it say? Absolutely NOTHING. All it is is a printout of his original score! I paid $50 for a hand score breakdown. I did NOT pay $50 for them to go onto their own stupid website and read me the score he had. I had done that at home. It isn't the score that is ticking me off - the score doesn't matter. What is making me furious is that they LIED to me. And the school where he took the exam is absolutely worthless. They LOST his standardized test scores from last year. They had scores for everyone BUT him. It makes me wonder if they even sent in his full SAT test. Grrr. /rant asta Edited September 1, 2009 by asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvmy4blessings Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Yikes. This is awful. I am so horrified to hear this!! I really hope you come to a resolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Good heavens! Is there a way you can walk on down there? Threaten a lawyer? Sorry, but I'd be mad also. Hugs to ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 I initially wanted to call CB and give them a piece of my mind, but then I decided that a letter would probably be more appropriate (and traceable). I'm going to wait to calm down before writing it - irrational anger never gets anyone anywhere... a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 So sorry. This must be incredibly frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 and I would really encourage you to pursue this, at least to get that score deleted from his records, if not a full refund. Ds took the PSAT at a local LD school with their kids who were all getting accomodations, too. One of his acc's was to have his form bubbled in for him. He marked all his answers very clearly on his test booklet. The only thing he marked himself was his write-in answers to the math sections. When his grades came out, he had scored a 40 or something like that. They never bubbled in his form for him, so the only answers he had correct were the maths, everything else was blank. You cannot believe the stink we had to raise to get that score deleted from his record. I loathe the CB. And the school was apologetic and tried to help, but it ended up being a fight between me and the CB. BTW, the CCs and the local 4 year univ. asked why we didn't have a score for the PSAT. I explained the situation, and they both asked me to simply report his hand-scored score, which the lady at the school and I double-checked together, on his transcript. I never could get the CB to go back and hand-score his PSAT officially. (Stoopid CB....) You go mom! You can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 ug. What a mess. Nothing but sympathy and shared sentiment about CB for you. And there is basicly zero reason for CB to do a dadblum thing for you. They have a monopoly on this gig and they already got your money, so good luck getting them to do anything.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice H Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Why is this particular monopoly not challenged by our busy-body government? Looks like the Department of Motor Vehicles has a competitor for customer service. I'd have to go outside and throw stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piano&ViolinMom Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 and I would really encourage you to pursue this, at least to get that score deleted from his records, You cannot believe the stink we had to raise to get that score deleted from his record. I loathe the CB. And the school was apologetic and tried to help, but it ended up being a fight between me and the CB. Very sorry to hear that. I do not have any PSAT test related experience with my dc yet. I just wonder if PSAT is also related with CB. I have thought not. What do you mean by deleting PSAT score from the records? From CB record? Delete it by calling CB? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted September 2, 2009 Author Share Posted September 2, 2009 PSAT is owned by college board as well. They own PSAT, SAT, SAT Subject exams, and AP exams. Martha is right - they're a bloody monopoly. I don't have to have the score thrown out because I didn't have it reported to anyone. It's just so frustrating, I wanted to vent. a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 We had our own nasty brush with CB when they supposedly overtimed my daughter's SAT II subject test. They didn't bother to tell us until 10 days before the make-up test date, which happened to be on a day we had a major conflict. Her only alternative to that test date was to retake it in the fall, 4 or so months after she'd finished the course. They wouldn't even give us a refund for the test fee. I have no doubt that having to do a retest 5 weeks after she'd finished the course, rather than at the very end, affected her score. All those comments above about the monopoly? Exactly what ran through my head when I was dealing with them. :banghead: After our experience, I do not doubt for one second that what you suspect happened is exactly what did happen. So sorry. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piano&ViolinMom Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Asta, Valerie(TX), andTerri, I am so sorry to hear your experience with CB. PSAT is owned by college board as well. We had something similar happen with ds' PSAT... I never could get the CB to go back and hand-score his PSAT officially. (Stoopid CB....) As I am new to PSAT, I am a little bit confused here. I do not have PSAT test experience with my dc yet. Is really PSAT owned by CB as well? Do you mean CB will send PSAT scores to kids, and keep their test scores officially, and they also correct scores by hand-counting? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted September 2, 2009 Author Share Posted September 2, 2009 Yes, College Board owns the PSAT. Yes, they send scores directly to families. The PSAT is normed by state (as opposed to nationally) and is used to qualify (or not) students for the National Merit Scholarship. SAT sends scores directly to families and will, at the request of the student, also send scores to prospective colleges. The SAT is normed nationally, by date of test taking (eg: all June 6th tests are normed together, all Oct. tests, etc.). a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Very sorry to hear that. I do not have any PSAT test related experience with my dc yet. I just wonder if PSAT is also related with CB. Yes, the PSAT is the test before the SAT 1. It is a College Board test. I have thought not. What do you mean by deleting PSAT score from the records? Ds now has no PSAT score on his records with the CB, as they deleted the false score. From CB record? Delete it by calling CB? Yes Thanks. The only PSAT score anywhere in ds' records now is the correctly graded PSAT score that I reported to the CCs and to the university that is on his transcript and on his electronic record at the uni. I kept the paper trail of his test booklet, the score sheet, and the correspondence to back it up, should there ever be a questions. There won't...no one cares. If your student isn't NMSQT material, there is limited value to PSAT, and after college admission, no one will care. In our case, it served to make it evident to the CC that he was college material, and they signed him right up for the Accuplacer. They had to have the Accuplacer score before admitting him, to place him in the right levels of reading (remedial, if necessary), english, and math classes. The PSAT was very useful at the univ., because with that score he was admitted to the Honors Academy, so he could do dual credit at the university. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piano&ViolinMom Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 If your student isn't NMSQT material, there is limited value to PSAT, and after college admission, no one will care. In our case, it served to make it evident to the CC that he was college material, and they signed him right up for the Accuplacer. They had to have the Accuplacer score before admitting him, to place him in the right levels of reading (remedial, if necessary), english, and math classes. The PSAT was very useful at the univ., because with that score he was admitted to the Honors Academy, so he could do dual credit at the university. My ds has had no experience with PSAT yet. Not yet. So I perhaps have not been aware many things on PSAT exactly. But he has many other experiences like taking SAT, AP tests and taking college courses. Now he is a 10th, so I hear that he can take PSAT not for the scholarship but for the practice. Will CB still keep 10th graders' PSAT scores also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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