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SAT subject tests: what is a "good" score?


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This seems to me like a dumb question, but I don't remember seeing the answer anywhere.

 

My eldest is taking a SAT subject test next month and I'm wondering what would be considered a "good" score?

 

Are the subject tests like the SAT, where the student can (should?) take the test again to try for a higher score, or is there a cutoff that is "good enough"?

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Quick research shows that the average scores for all takers on all sat ii tests are all above 600, with many above 650 (http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-subject/scores/average ), and "elite colleges" probably expect to see above 700, per this: http://collegeapps.about.com/od/satiisubjecttests/a/Good-Math-SAT-Subject-Test-Score.htm

 

It does sound like a "good enough" thing, but good enough is fairly high.

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Here is a link to the average SAT subject score for each exam.

https://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-subject/scores/average

 

I guess what I am asking is this.

 

Let's say my child takes the World History exam and scores 640.  The average score is 624.  Is my child's score considered good enough to send to colleges? Or would a re-take or even several re-takes trying to improve the score be worth it?

 

Some colleges say that they want homeschooled applicants to take a certain number of SAT subject tests.  I just don't know the score to shoot for.  I know for the SAT itself what a perfect score is, what a very good score is, etc. but... for the subject tests?  Are we aiming for a perfect score here, or something above the average... how much above the average?

 

ETA:  Okay, after seeing a later post, 700+ is the number to shoot for.  We're not looking at elite schools, but 700+ seems like a "safe" number.

 

 

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There are a few different reasons to take SAT subject tests.

For starters, don't sign up if you aren't pretty sure you can hit a 550.  These tests are optional, and you should only take the ones that make your student look good.

 

If your purpose is to show well-roundedness, then a 600 is fine.

If your purpose is to show strengths, then shoot for that 700.

 

In other words, for a budding engineer, a 640 in World History is plenty to show that the student is not just a math/science nerd.  For a pre-law student, aiming for that 700 is better.  Similarly, for the prelaw student,a 600 in math and a 700 in world history is fine.

 

Finally, your scores should match your transcript -- an A+ is "Honors Biology" and a 450 on the Biology subject test don't match, for example.

 

 

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There are a few different reasons to take SAT subject tests.

For starters, don't sign up if you aren't pretty sure you can hit a 550.  These tests are optional, and you should only take the ones that make your student look good.

 

If your purpose is to show well-roundedness, then a 600 is fine.

If your purpose is to show strengths, then shoot for that 700.

 

In other words, for a budding engineer, a 640 in World History is plenty to show that the student is not just a math/science nerd.  For a pre-law student, aiming for that 700 is better.  Similarly, for the prelaw student,a 600 in math and a 700 in world history is fine.

 

Finally, your scores should match your transcript -- an A+ is "Honors Biology" and a 450 on the Biology subject test don't match, for example.

I am going to go out on a bit of a limb here and share my experience.  Numbers are not often shared on these boards, perhaps for privacy reasons.  I would appreciate if my post is not quoted as I may think better about sharing these details later and want to revise my post.  OTOH, I think these numbers may be helpful for others.

 

The tests are not optional for all schools.  We were considering applying at Emory.  They require 3 SAT subject tests from homeschoolers.  It doesn't matter if they have 69 CC credits.  Nothing else will do for Emory but SAT subject tests.  In the thread I posted earlier, Nancy mentioned that Emory wants to see 650+.

 

I will start by saying that ds generally scores very well on standardized tests (KTEA and ACT).  He did not score as well on the PSAT.  He never took the SAT.  Something about the 1/4 point penalty really irks me.

 

Ds took SAT subjects tests after CC classes.  He did fine in Math 1 - 690 first try, 700 second try.  610 in Literature.  520 in Biology (M).  500 in Chemistry.  His transcript shows As in all the classes because that is what he earned.  I was disappointed in his scores.  I don't know if it is a reflection of ds's unwillingness to prep for the tests or the fact that CC does not teach to the test or something completely different.  I never did list any of these scores on his transcript.  Eventually, we realized that, while Emory is a lovely school, ds needed to apply elsewhere for more STEM options.

 

Janet, thank you so much for mentioning that 600 is a decent score for a Math guy in Literature.  That makes me feel better.  Oddly enough, 2/3 times, he scored higher on the ACT Reading/English section than the Math section.

 

HTH!

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I'm confused about the link to the percentages.... Am I reading that chart wrong? The percentage is supposed to be the percentage of students who did worse than you if you got a certain grade so the 90 by the 800 on Chemistry sounds like they saying that 10% of students taking the Chemistry Subject test get a perfect 800. That seems highly unlikely to me. 

 

Also - My currently college student didn't apply anywhere that required SAT Subject tests but my next one probably will. What to colleges think about kids taking an SAT Subject test in the same subject they take an AP exam?

 

 

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I'm confused about the link to the percentages.... Am I reading that chart wrong? The percentage is supposed to be the percentage of students who did worse than you if you got a certain grade so the 90 by the 800 on Chemistry sounds like they saying that 10% of students taking the Chemistry Subject test get a perfect 800. That seems highly unlikely to me.

 

Yes, that is exactly what it means. Please keep in mind that the student populations who take any given SAT2 are highly self-selecting: only strong chemistry students are going to attempt the chemistry SAT.

It is even more extreme in the language tests: a perfect in Chinese is the 64th percentile and 36% of all students who take the test score an 800 - which is possible since most test takers are native speakers.

 

Looking at these numbers is particularly interesting when comparing the two math tests. The Math 1 test tests less advanced material but has a harder grading curve, thus only 1% of students make a perfect, whereas the math 2 test tests more advanced material but has a more forgiving grading curve so that 17% score a perfect - something to keep in mind when deciding which math test to take..

 

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My junior has taken three subject tests - math level 2, physics and chemistry.  Imo, the chemistry exam is the most difficult of the three.  While a student could skip working through a prep book for the math and physics subject tests and still score well, I would not recommend that approach for the chemistry exam.

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Some colleges say that they want homeschooled applicants to take a certain number of SAT subject tests.  I just don't know the score to shoot for.  I know for the SAT itself what a perfect score is, what a very good score is, etc. but... for the subject tests?  Are we aiming for a perfect score here, or something above the average... how much above the average?

 

 

Your best bet is to ask the school.  Only one of the schools my dd applied to required SAT subject tests, and that only of homeschoolers to legitimize grades that were given without a standard that the school recognized.  In this case they were, by their own admission, only looking for students to score a 550 or better.

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I don't know what colleges think about it, but it is my understanding, from reading SAT subject test threads on this board, that this happens frequently.

 

 

:iagree: 

The colleges that request Subject Tests will not permit a student to substitute an AP score instead of the Subject Test score.  At least for the science subject tests, it is very common to take the Subject Test after completing the AP course.  The math subject tests do not test calculus, so most kids take the Math Level II subject test after completing pre-calc.

 

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If you are applying to elite schools, the scores for how ever many they require count as heavily as the regular SAT, so you want a few really top scores (i.e., you're shooting for three 800s).  The rest of the scores are to show that you've mastered subjects, so it's okay to have lower scores.  We had our kids retest for any where their scores were below the mean, but we didn't worry about a few scores in the mid-600s when they had plenty of other really strong scores.

 

My kids have always taken the subject tests the same year they take APs in each subject.

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This is making me question having my daughter take the SAT Subject Chemistry test. We don't plan to do it until after she finishes AP Chem but she's already started practice books and does very well on the practice tests. However, I'm sure colleges want to see top 10% at minimum and "perfect" is a lot to ask for. 

 

 

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This is making me question having my daughter take the SAT Subject Chemistry test. We don't plan to do it until after she finishes AP Chem but she's already started practice books and does very well on the practice tests. However, I'm sure colleges want to see top 10% at minimum and "perfect" is a lot to ask for. 

 

Fwiw, I don't think is it necessary to get an 800 on the subject tests, but I would shoot for above 750 if applying to a highly selective school.  The test range of admitted students to MIT has a range of (740, 800) (25%, 75%) for the science subjects and (760, 800) for the math.

 

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This is making me question having my daughter take the SAT Subject Chemistry test. We don't plan to do it until after she finishes AP Chem but she's already started practice books and does very well on the practice tests. However, I'm sure colleges want to see top 10% at minimum and "perfect" is a lot to ask for. 

 

My son got 800s every time he took a practice test (including the official practice test from the blue book) and ended up getting a 700 on the actual test.  I thought it was a bad score, but after reading this thread, maybe I should alter my opinion.

 

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My son is not trying for Ivies or MIT, etc, but I think we will have to cross off some schools that might have been good fits because of SAT 2 requirements.  Schools like Rhodes (requires homeschoolers to have 2 SAT subject tests other than math and English) and Richmond (requires subject tests in history, science, and foreign language) might have worked for us but I just don't know that my ds can get the SAT 2 scores.  His ACT scores will be in line and he has had a good curriculum and lots of quality extra curriculars. 

 

We have opted not to pursue AP level sciences.  That is just not an area of interest for mine and it didn't seem like a good use of time.  I know the SAT is supposed to test high school level mastery but when all the other kids in the room have had AP and are going for top tier colleges my ds is just not going to score well in comparison.  We also are opting for dual enrollment for Spanish for 3 semesters so he isn't going to be up for getting a good score on a foreign language SAT 2. 

 

I can't say that we'd go back and take AP sciences or really focus on foreign language just to get to the point of having the SAT 2 scores so I don't really have regrets.  Just annoyance that we are going to have to look elsewhere.  Those tests will expose weaknesses of my son in comparison to those kids that took AP level everything but I don't think they reflect total inadequacy of high school education.  I wish schools would not be so hard on those requirements but it is certainly their right to do that.  Luckily there are lots of good schools out there without those requirements.

 

 

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This is making me question having my daughter take the SAT Subject Chemistry test. We don't plan to do it until after she finishes AP Chem but she's already started practice books and does very well on the practice tests. However, I'm sure colleges want to see top 10% at minimum and "perfect" is a lot to ask for. 

 

 

Please don't believe that "colleges want to see top 10% minimum"  -- that is ridiculous, except for the few colleges that really do have to reject 95% of their applicants. 

 

I have a love/hate relationship with the "strive for the best" attitude on WTM.  On the one hand, this forum is the best place to learn from parents who really do care about their kids achieving deep learning.  On the other hand, the perfectionism is sometimes unhealthy.

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Please don't believe that "colleges want to see top 10% minimum"  -- that is ridiculous, except for the few colleges that really do have to reject 95% of their applicants. 

 

I have a love/hate relationship with the "strive for the best" attitude on WTM.  On the one hand, this forum is the best place to learn from parents who really do care about their kids achieving deep learning.  On the other hand, the perfectionism is sometimes unhealthy.

 

While I agree in theory not everyone has the option of ignoring the reality of competitive college entrance. In VA, if you live where I do and deal with quotas for entrance into our state schools, it can be almost easier to get into Ivy than our state universities. I'd love to be able to just blow that off and look at other schools but the financial reality of needing to look at state schools means that I have to be realistic. To give you an idea.. here is the equivalent chart for SATs (not subject). The top 10% puts you in the 650-680 range depending on the subject. Not going to get you into UVA, William and Mary, probably not VAtech unless 680 is the lowest and it's English but your math is really high. It's tight for JMU. It's just reality. My oldest is currently at a private school in VA that she was able to do because she got a huge scholarship and it provided what she was looking for educationally. My middle daughter will more likely be looking more main stream so these are the schools that we will be able to consider. I have to play the game.

 

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/SAT-Percentile-Ranks-2013.pdf

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You can score 800 on the test and not get every question right.  It is not a "perfect score."  It is the top score.  Because the SAT is scaled against everyone else who took it, your raw score is different from the scaled and equated score.  It means that you performed at the top of the pile for the SAT that year.  It does not mean you did not get a single question wrong.

 

"Your raw score is then converted to a scaled score (reported on a 200-800 scale) by a statistical process called equating. Equating ensures that the different forms of the test or the level of ability of the students with whom you are tested do not affect your score. Equating makes it possible to make comparisons among test takers who take different editions of the test across different administrations." - College Board website

 

It is important that your students know this.  You are never shooting for perfection.  You are merely shooting to do your best among your peer group.

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Remember that if 10% of the students taking the chemistry exam score 800, that does not mean that that is the top 10% of students, just of students taking that exam. There's quite a difference, since it tends to be the better schools that require SAT Subject exams, and everyone naturally chooses to take the exams in the subjects for which they're best qualified. The chemistry test is not easy.

 

In my case, I figured that any decent score on an SAT Subject exam was better than no score at all, because it served as independent confirmation that learning does in fact occur in our homeschool. Otherwise the colleges have to pretty much take us at our word. I have heard (don't know if it's true) that it's a good idea to aim for Subject test scores that are similar to your regular SAT scores; my daughter took the chemistry test and scored some lower than that, which disappointed us, but it was good enough not to worry about re-taking it.

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