TrixieB Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 If a student takes the SAT several times, do the schools get all the scores? Or does the student choose which date's score to send? Or can the student send the best math score, the best essay score, etc. even if those scores are from different test dates? I am asking this because I had thought about having my child take the SAT in December, then work on any weak areas and take the SAT again in the spring. Or would it be a bad idea to do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Depends on the school. You choose which scores to send to the school. Some schools want all the scores. DS18 took the SAT twice and chose to just send scores from the second time because they were better. Some schools wanted all the scores and did a "super-score" where they just looked at the best score from each section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 It does depend on the school, and if your student is taking it for the first time and you have no idea how s/he will do, it may be best to not have the scores sent anywhere. Then if you want to send them later, you can, but for a fee (the first 3? scores sent are free if you click to have them sent before the test is taken). For my oldest, we used the SAT as our required state standardized testing beginning in 9th grade, so dd took the SAT 5 times. We only sent the scores once she started hitting scores I was happy with, and all of the schools she applied to superscored, so she was able to use her highest from each section. But do investigate the policy of the schools to which your student is interested in applying, because not every school looks positively on multiple tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I asked many admissions reps about this, and yes, schools are different. The most common answer I got from upper level schools was that they liked seeing at least two scores and they liked to see improvement between those scores because it told them the student wasn't satisfied with their first score (even if reasonably high) and did what they could to improve. (Essentially it showed the willingness to work.) They said with just one score they didn't know if a student had worked to get that score and did well or if they naturally did well. BUT, all also said they still accepted students with just one good score, so I've no idea if it really matters when they like a candidate for admissions. The most common answer from mid-level schools was that they encouraged students to take it more than once because they superscore and kids would have their best chance at showing what they could do with more than one test sitting. Scholarship competitions were often based off only the highest score though - no superscoring. State schools and some others said it really didn't matter. Do what you like. I see no harm at any level in doing the test the way you intend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm curious about the idea of taking it too many times. Has anyone encountered an actual school that said beyond a specific number they perceived additional scores as a negative? I can picture an adcon wondering who a student sat for every SAT for several years. If for no other reason than opportunity cost. Time spent on the SAT is time not spent elsewhere. But what is the break point? 7? 5? 3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutella08 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I don't know how reliable this resource is, but the link gives you an idea of the range of possibilities here. http://www.powerscore.com/sat/help/sat_survey.cfm Method Key:1 = Combines the highest individual math, reading, and writing from multiple tests2 = Takes the highest single test administration3 = Takes the score from the most recent test adminstration4 = Averages all of the test administrations5 = Other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordnerdjenn Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm curious about the idea of taking it too many times. Has anyone encountered an actual school that said beyond a specific number they perceived additional scores as a negative? I can picture an adcon wondering who a student sat for every SAT for several years. If for no other reason than opportunity cost. Time spent on the SAT is time not spent elsewhere. But what is the break point? 7? 5? 3? I've always worked from the premise that more than three looks desperate (and by that three, I mean three taken in sophomore year or later...earlier attempts don't count toward that total since they can't be considered "serious" attempts for most students). Also, in a practical sense, a student is very unlikely to improve his/her score after the third try. I realize this isn't completely on topic, but I am utterly flummoxed by the trend I see with students taking the SAT/ACT completely unprepared to get a "baseline." I can't see any point in that. That's what official practice tests are for! I have a current student who took the June ACT with zero prep, and she was shocked her score was so much lower than she expected. At least she's ready now and took the test yesterday :) But she's applying to schools that require all scores, and it's not good that she'll have to report that low score (which could have been totally avoided). The take home is that any time you take it for real (soph or later), make sure it's a serious try at it. If you want a baseline, do a practice test! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlisonK Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Just an added note regarding timing of the SAT. If you have your teen take the test in Jan. instead of Dec. you can pay a little extra and get a report with the answers showing which ones they got wrong and what it should have been. They only do that certain months and January is one of them. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathwonk Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 what a brave new world. when i was a high school student back in the early 60's (1960's that is), as far as i know, no one took it more than once. and there were no prep classes i knew of. i just got up early one morning, drove to the other side of town, and took it once and that was it. i may be wrong, but i think making a habit of studying in school for your whole career, taking 4 years of high school math and english, and continually learning new words is more important than taking it over and over. of course anyone can have a bad day, so if the taker thinks he/she had such a day, maybe taking it twice is a good idea. i agree that taking it to see what it is like, is not as wise as just buying a $20 book of old tests and taking some of them. Also, since i was on the math team, i got a lot of test taking practice in competitions, without specifically thinking about preparing for the SAT. Forgive me if these old memories are irrelevant today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 The College Board has a pdf listing of how the different schools use the scores available to them: https://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-use-practices-list.pdf Self-reporting (and there's obviously not data from EVERY school), but still useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 mathwonk, how nice to see you again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 Just an added note regarding timing of the SAT. If you have your teen take the test in Jan. instead of Dec. you can pay a little extra and get a report with the answers showing which ones they got wrong and what it should have been. They only do that certain months and January is one of them. HTH Thank you for posting this. I had no idea that you can get answer reports. What other months have answer reports available? Also, do the students get their test booklets returned to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 The ACT offers the same option for certain test dates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlisonK Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Thank you for posting this. I had no idea that you can get answer reports. What other months have answer reports available? Also, do the students get their test booklets returned to them? I think this link should give you some information. I believe Jan. May and Oct. are the months you can get questions and answers for SAT. I know ACT has the same service in December because I signed my DS up for that already. There are other months too. Scroll down a little... http://sat.collegeboard.org/scores/verify-sat-scores Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 I think this link should give you some information. I believe Jan. May and Oct. are the months you can get questions and answers for SAT. I know ACT has the same service in December because I signed my DS up for that already. There are other months too. Scroll down a little... http://sat.collegeboard.org/scores/verify-sat-scores Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordnerdjenn Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 April and June are the other months that the ACT Test Information Release is available. Here's the order form: http://www.act.org/aap/pdf/release.pdf Annoyingly, they won't let you mail the form until after the test! It can take six weeks for the test and answers to arrive, often later than the next test date. Grrr... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttichen Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Thank you for posting this. I had no idea that you can get answer reports. What other months have answer reports available? Also, do the students get their test booklets returned to them? You don't get the test book back. All you get is a list of numbers with the answers your child put along with the correct answers. It's really only useful if you want to see if they missed random questions here and there or messed up a whole section (e.g., bubbled incorrectly). You can also order it after you get the scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 You don't get the test book back. All you get is a list of numbers with the answers your child put along with the correct answers. It's really only useful if you want to see if they missed random questions here and there or messed up a whole section (e.g., bubbled incorrectly). You can also order it after you get the scores. When I did the SAT Q and A service I did get a full test booklet back. I also got a listing of their answers and the correct answers. When I signed up ds's for the Nov and Dec tests there was a Q&A service option as part of the registration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordnerdjenn Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 The SAT QAS and ACT TIR services do send you a copy of the actual test questions, but not the actual booklet you used. For the other test dates, you can get a copy of your answers and which ones you got wrong, but no test questions. Both tests recycle questions so they don't release the full test on all dates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 The SAT QAS and ACT TIR services do send you a copy of the actual test questions, but not the actual booklet you used. For the other test dates, you can get a copy of your answers and which ones you got wrong, but no test questions. Both tests recycle questions so they don't release the full test on all dates. Okay. I thought it was like the PSAT, where the students receives his/her actual test booklet back. I see what you mean about the questions, though. It would be difficult to write a completely new SAT test umpteen times per year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttichen Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 When I did the SAT Q and A service I did get a full test booklet back. I also got a listing of their answers and the correct answers. When I signed up ds's for the Nov and Dec tests there was a Q&A service option as part of the registration. Oh -- sorry! When I did it I just got answers, but that was many moons ago. I'm glad they made it better! ETA -- Or maybe I just got it in the wrong month.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Oh -- sorry! When I did it I just got answers, but that was many moons ago. I'm glad they made it better! ETA -- Or maybe I just got it in the wrong month.... Actually looking again it looks like the qa service I ordered really only gives the answers, which seems pointless. I'm going to try to modify the extra charge before the test. It seems to vary by month, without being evident at registration that there are differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathwonk Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 recalling helping my own kids prep for the sat: i would let them take old tests from the practice book, then i would go over them, grade them and point out the right answers they missed, in my opinion, or maybe they had answers in the book. one thing that came up in our practice was that kids can think of reasons several possible answers could be correct, and my experienced perspective was useful to explain to them why the test maker wanted only one of those answers. i.e. there were often more than one technically "correct" answer, but I usually knew which one the test maker wanted and why. this sort of test taking savvy is helpful to youngsters, and it takes an older head to be aware of this. so i recommend discussing with your kids why certain answers were likely chosen. you'll probably see something they won't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Actually looking again it looks like the qa service I ordered really only gives the answers, which seems pointless. I'm going to try to modify the extra charge before the test. It seems to vary by month, without being evident at registration that there are differences. So, I went back on the CB site and looked at the options. Question and Answer Service - students get a test booklet, correct answers and scoring guidelines. They can also find out what answers they gave (not clear if this last is automatic or must be requested). Student Answer Service - you get information about the type of questions on the test you took, whether you answered it correctly or incorrectly, or omitted it, and the level of difficulty for each question. It looks like the Q&A Service has limited availability, but that the Student Answer Service is available on the other test dates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I'm under the impression most kids take the exam at least twice. Once in spring of junior year and once in fall of senior year. All scores from tests in 9th-12th grade are sent when scores are reported. You need to check with each admissions department to see how scores are handled. Some take the single best sitting of the exam and others will take the best score for each section from any sitting to create a "super score". There may be other options I'm unaware of... I could easily see a student taking three times and focusing their prep on one section per sitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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