annabanana1992 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I have an 11DS currently enrolled in a classical school for 6th grade, but we have plans to HS for 7th and perhaps 8th. His teachers tell me he is smart, gets reallygood grades, good ERB test scores, etc. I know he reads above grade level ( a few quick tests indicated 11-12th grade level). Not so sure about math - Saxon at school has given him a bad impression of math. We have since switched him to SM. I know there are some programs (like Hopkins) that he might qualify for, but I am just not sure. It seems that some of these programs look at SAT scores from 7th grade. So my questions are - have any of you had your children take SAT's in 7th grade? How do you go about this? Did you have them do SAT prep books? I am just not sure what to do for my son. He has medical school aspirations so we are already planning for a high school load that will make this possible. We would really like to mazimize the next two years to lay a great foundation for high school and beyond. To be honest though, I don't have a great feel for exactly what his potential is... ok I am rambling now... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Obviously, if you think med school in the future than you want a strong math and science background. To take the SAT just go the Hopkins Center for Talented Youth website and they will give you directions for registering under their "program". Once you get a qualifying score there will be no end to the literature you recieve regarding all the wonderful programs you can spend copious amounts of cash on. My ds did CTY math through their grade 4 in first and the beginning of second grade. It was a good program and I understand the program they administer for secondary grades is good too. It's just a lot of money and I can teach math so we dropped it. I've never done prep for these tests. My oldest ds has done the elementary JHU CTY testing and the 7th grade SAT, ACT with them. My dd has done the elementary testing. Partly, we've participated in talent search because I want my dc well versed in the standardized test experience. PS kids do standardized tests constantly and standardized test results affect your plans for life--since 10th grade I've taken the PSAT, SAT, Achievement tests (now called SAT IIs), GRE, MAT, NTE, LSAT, Bar Exam, Praxis. Each test has resulted in opportunities for me. Maybe that's crazy, but I just sent them in cold to do it. I wanted to see how they stacked up. When my oldest is a junior in high school and takes the SAT for real I'll probably have him prep then to develop strategy (when not to answer the question, because wrong counts off etc). This is not to say you can't prep for the test. If you are dead set on having the option to do CTY programs, then get a prep book and work on it. That was one reason ds took the SAT through them--we wanted the option. When it came down to it, we didn't have the $1500 for a year of algebra 2 when ds was in 8th grade. If your ds is not ready for algebra in grade 7, I'd set a goal for him to be ready in grade 8 so he can be on pace to get in calculus before graduation. However, do not skip stuff and dump him in Algebra if he is not ready. Since he is turned off of math I'd involve him in selecting the math program. I'd get samples of bunches of stuff, look at the JHU stuff if he qualifies. Get to know the homeschool group near you and borrow books from the high schoolers. You can get a sample of Videotext from their website. I don't know about Chalkdust. Find someone who has a copy of Lial's BCM and Jacobs Algebra. Basically, look at them all with your ds and let him be involved. I'm doing Videotext with my dd next year (5th for her) because she watched the demo and "said this makes sense. I like this." We are also doing Life of Fred, which is funny and has serious math. You may want to pick up Life of Fred this year do some "afterschool". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annabanana1992 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Sorry Betty - my son is working in SM 6A. I have exposed him to a little bit of Algebra and he "got" it so our plan is to have him start Algebra in 7th. I like the idea of letting him check out curriculums, but *I* lean towards Foerster at this point :D! Thanks so much for your help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwilliams1922 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 DD 12 took the SAT in June. I just heard about it right before the deadline to register so she did not have any SAT prep. She qualified for the hopkins verbal program. she's NOT a math person so i had her leave the math questions blank. I talked to hopkins about their programs. They said they prefer the kids do not do a test prep before taking the SAT at an early age. I plan to have her take the online writing courses. I think it's about 800. I'm using math u see and hopefully we can get her ready for the SAT/ACT math. Math just doesnt come naturally for her. :( What are you looking for from Hopkins? Math or language? Early on I was thinking I could use an outside program to catch her up in math but many of the programs are for very advanced kids in areas where they excel. So I'm doing her weak area of math to catch her up. I'm farming out writing/language as she is ready for it. Many of their classes are college level. I'm rambling too but i'd love to hear what others have found. Lara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annabanana1992 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 I think he could qualify for verbal. I think he has the aptitude for math, but Saxon has ill-prepared him to actually think mathematically. I think I would need to do some catch up work to see what he is really capable of with math. It is just so hard (or maybe I am making it hard) to have him reach potential and be challenged without seeming like some pushy mom who is convinced her kid is a genius... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwilliams1922 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I think he could qualify for verbal. I think he has the aptitude for math, but Saxon has ill-prepared him to actually think mathematically. I think I would need to do some catch up work to see what he is really capable of with math. It is just so hard (or maybe I am making it hard) to have him reach potential and be challenged without seeming like some pushy mom who is convinced her kid is a genius... you could always have him test now and see where he is. It was an easy decision for me because dd doesn't seem to mind standardized tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Our ds took the SAT at 10 and with out any test prep. No need to raise any stress levels at this age. Just make it a game. And they get familiar with the whole process. I am not as familiar with the JHU program but with Stanford's EPGY you could use certain standardized tests to qualify. SAT, ACT were accepted but so were others. Our "math" experience was to use SM and then Jacobs for Algebra and Geometry then Lial for Precalc/Trig thru EPGY then Thinkwell for calculus(JHU uses that in their program). But, we are using the Chalkdust SAT Math review since it has been so long ago that we did all these basic courses and I must say I really like Dana Mosley's teaching style, at least on this math review program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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