Has anyone ever done the free practice SAT locally with a young DC?

[Dmmetler]

I'm trying to decide if it's a good idea to have DD9 take the SAT this year before it changes or not. My gut feeling says that she may well do better on the verbal when it does have more esoteric vocabulary, since she's pretty good with Greek/Latin roots and derivations, and she usually enjoys tests. There's a free practice test being given at a local library (by Kaplan Test Prep), and I was wondering if anyone had ever had a younger DC do one of these, and whether you'd recommend it?

 

 

[maize]

I can't think of any real reason not to, unless the child finds testing stressful.

[Dmmetler]

Usually she loves testing, but she's normally doing it with kids within a few years of her age, so this would be a bit of a change. I'm wondering if any of the high school kids that she knows are doing it?

 

 

[JeanM]

As far as I know, the new SAT isn't starting until spring 2016. So your dd could wait at least another year and still take the old SAT.

 

Both my dc took the SAT when they were 12. Where we live there isn't a separate room or anything for young people taking the SAT. My younger ds is quite small for his age, and he was a bit stressed about taking the test with high school students, but he came out of the test saying it went fine. I had both dc take practice tests at home before going, but they've never gone to a test prep center.

[wendyroo]

I worked for Kaplan doing test prep for many years and I used to administer those free practice tests sometimes.  The conditions varied a lot: sometimes it would be 6 kids, other times 200.  Some kids were there under parental duress and would goof off a lot and the Kaplan proctors had to walk a fine line between keeping order for the other test takers' sake while not overly pissing off potential clients.  It is actually good for Kaplan if a kid goofs of a bit and then becomes a client, because that artificially low score is used as their pre-test-prep benchmark and can be easily improved upon by simply not letting them goof off during subsequent tests.

 

I did see very young test takers occasionally, and I never saw any of the older kids directly hassle them, though there was some nudging and whispering before the test started.

 

If she goes into the test understanding that it is hard and that she shouldn't stress about her score, then I see no harm in her taking it.  If you think it might help, I would mention the wrong answer penalty to help her decide how to handle questions that she doesn't know.

 

Wendy 

[Barbara H]

If all a student wants is group test experience it can be worthwhile. If they are looking for an accurate idea how they will score on the SAT I don't think it is the best choice. I've had high school students who came home stressed from free Kaplan testing because the testing conditions were less than ideal, they found some of the questions confusing, and they scored lower than they should have. That can undermine confidence and introduce test anxiety and particularly for a younger student I'd be wary of that. The same students ultimately got more accurate predictions of scores from using an old SAT test at home.

 

If the goal is to find out what the student is capable of scoring on the SAT I suggest the Blue book at home under simulated conditions using a paper and pencil test with a timer. If the goal is to get experience of taking a test in public with some distractions, I suggest using the same Blue Book but taking it at the library or coffee shop. If the goal is to have scores to use for college dual enrollment or qualification for programs, registering for the actual test would accomplish more. The ACT is a better choice for some young testers. That's where we started and it was a better because the exam was shorter and the essay was optional. By registering with ACT we had scores that were usable for college courses and then later with the SAT through talent search useful for Study of Exceptional Talent SET and other programs.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I agree that it depends on your goals. I would not have my dd take the practice SAT at the library because she can do it at home. She has already taken the ACT, so is familiar with taking a test in a group setting with high school teens.

 

ETA: I also agree with pps that the conditions at the library may be nothing like the actual test setting.

[EndOfOrdinary]

Have you asked her if she is interested? I took the actual SAT the first time at 12. I went to the high school a couple towns over on a Saturday. It was a very low anxiety environment because my scores did not matter. I was too young for colleges to even consider them (though they later played a significant role) and it meant I did not need to be stressed. I really liked that part. I also liked not knowing anyone because it let me be free to be the younger kid. If it was in my hometown, then I would have been the freakish "smart kid."

 

As long as she does not take this test as a large predictor of the actual SAT, then you are probably good for letting her go for it.