Take the SCAT out of level without CTY?

[MamaSprout]

Does anyone know if it's possible to register for the SCAT test without registering for CTY? We're in the Midwest so CTY wouldn't be useful to us.

Edited October 13, 2016 by elladarcy

[DoubleTime]

We're in the Midwest too, and my daughter took the SCAT through CTY last year-- she was younger than 2nd grade but I just called her 2nd grade so she could take the test.  CTY has online classes so it's useful wherever you are geographically, really.  Even if you didn't think your child would like their online classes, taking the SCAT keeps that possibility open and also get you the scores for whatever else you might want them for.

 

I *think* CTY bought the SCAT test a while back so I'm not sure you can take it any other way.

 

 

[SeaConquest]

Is there a deadline for signing up for the SCAT?

[DoubleTime]

You can sign up any time-- you do that through CTY and they coordinate it with a testing center in your area.  It was easy to do-- had to reschedule at one point and that was easy too.  It's a quick test, only about a half hour I think.

[Arcadia]

CTY has "ownership rights" to SCAT. So it is only offered through them.

 

How about taking the PSAT 8/9 through Northwestern's NUMATS?

http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/program/numats

 

Is there a deadline for signing up for the SCAT?

No deadline and once you get the registration ID, it was easy to get a test slot at the prometric centers. You can check locations of test centers here

https://www.prometric.com/en-us/clients/jhucty/Pages/landing.aspx

[luuknam]

Is there a deadline for signing up for the SCAT?

 

No, but they recommend signing up at least a month before taking the test, iirc (though, my oldest took the CAT in May, and then in early June I found out he qualified to take the SCAT, so I signed him up mid-June and he took the test a few days later). IIRC, the cut-off between grades is July 1st, so if you have, say, a 2nd grader, the kid will likely score highest if he takes it in June, rather than now. If you wait until July though, he'd be a 3rd grader.

[SeaConquest]

No, but they recommend signing up at least a month before taking the test, iirc (though, my oldest took the CAT in May, and then in early June I found out he qualified to take the SCAT, so I signed him up mid-June and he took the test a few days later). IIRC, the cut-off between grades is July 1st, so if you have, say, a 2nd grader, the kid will likely score highest if he takes it in June, rather than now. If you wait until July though, he'd be a 3rd grader.

Should I wait then? If he doesn't score high enough, could he do it again later in the year? The test seems pretty simple for him, but who knows how he will do. Also, does he need to qualify with some other test first? I thought I could just sign him up for the SCAT.

[gstharr]

Actually, you take SCAT through CTY. With a qualifying score, you are accepted for CTY on-line classes, and live summer classes held around the country.

[luuknam]

Should I wait then? If he doesn't score high enough, could he do it again later in the year? The test seems pretty simple for him, but who knows how he will do. Also, does he need to qualify with some other test first? I thought I could just sign him up for the SCAT.

 

I can't seem to find it on their website, so I don't know if they dropped that requirement this year or if it's just too hidden and you'll see it when trying to register. He's supposed to score 95th percentile or higher on at least one of the subtests of a standardized test (not all subtests count though - I know that for the CAT vocabulary counted, as that's the one my oldest used to qualify to take it, and I remember that e.g. math computation did not count). FWIW, all I had to do when I registered my oldest in June last year was select the test from a drop-down menu, select the subtest from a drop-down menu, and then select the score from a drop-down menu - I didn't have to submit any proof he'd actually taken the CAT or scored 95th percentile or w/e.

 

It's my understanding that the sample questions are supposed to be simple, just to give the kid (and parent) and idea of the kind of stuff that's on the test, but that the test includes harder questions. However, since the testing is done at a testing center where I had to wait in the lobby, I have no idea of the difficulty of the actual questions.

 

I'm not sure about retesting - you'd have to ask them. Whether to wait or not... depends. If you wanted your son to take an online class this spring, you'd probably have to test soon (their online classes are very expensive though, and I've heard that at least some of them are basically the much cheaper Thinkwell classes). Otherwise, waiting until spring to test would probably give you better scores, as the kid will be half a year older. I think I'd be more inclined to wait with a kid born just before the cut-off for his grade than with a kid born just after the cut-off (i.e. some 2nd graders are already 8yo right now, whereas others might turn 7 next month - the SCAT doesn't really cover school curriculum, it's more math reasoning and vocabulary analogies, so I think age matters more than whether you test at the beginning or the end of the school year).

Edited October 14, 2016 by luuknam

[Dmmetler]

It used to be that you could do a parental qualification for kids without standardized test scores and do the SCAT. FWIW, my DD did the SCAT in 2nd based on 1st grade SAT-10 scores, and the ceiling was only about the 90% percentile, because there was one subtest on the 1st grade test in both verbal and math that had a ceiling at about the 60%-I think one was letter identification and one was counting. I called CTY, and their response was "of course she can test-if you think she's likely to qualify, sign her up!".

[mathnerd]

Should I wait then? If he doesn't score high enough, could he do it again later in the year? The test seems pretty simple for him, but who knows how he will do. Also, does he need to qualify with some other test first? I thought I could just sign him up for the SCAT.

My son takes the SCAT every year (for my record keeping). But, it is sufficient to take it once in elementary and qualify for all the elementary years and take it again in the middle school years.

The test is a little bit harder than the sample questions - my son said that there were vocabulary words, analogies, math (fractions, variables, negative numbers) etc. He took the test as a 2nd, 3rd and a 4th grader. They ask you to upload the Standardized test scores where the child scored above 95th percentile on either math or LA. I think that if you don't have scores, you might have to call them for approval. They will send you an approval electronically - you use that code to reserve your testing time at a Prometric center. The approval is valid for taking the test twice in a year. You can take it any time before June of the academic year. We went once to the award ceremony and it was not worth the trip for us - so, we ask for the certificate to be mailed to us now. Good luck.

[SeaConquest]

Thanks everyone. We are all signed up for a November test date.

 

ETA, we had no qualifying test scores, but it still let me register.

Edited October 15, 2016 by SeaConquest

[MamaSprout]

CTY has "ownership rights" to SCAT. So it is only offered through them.

 

How about taking the PSAT 8/9 through Northwestern's NUMATS?

http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/program/numats

 

 

Does anyone know anything about the PSAT 8/9? I don't want to do that one because the latest we can take it this year is mid January. The closest place we can take it is an hour away, and we can usually count on bad weather that time of year.

[SeaConquest]

What happens if a child qualifies in verbal, but not math, or vice versa? How often can you retest to see if he/she qualifies for both? How often do you have to retest to stay in the program? We are testing on Saturday. How long until you get results?

[azucena]

We tested last Tuesday and had answers within 48 hours.  Not sure of the answers to your other questions.

[mathnerd]

What happens if a child qualifies in verbal, but not math, or vice versa? How often can you retest to see if he/she qualifies for both? How often do you have to retest to stay in the program? We are testing on Saturday. How long until you get results?

If your child qualifies in verbal and not in math, he will be approved to take classes in the "Humanities" offerings of CTY Young Students and CTY Online Program. He will have to retake SCAT in order to get into the "Math" classes.

 

You can schedule another test with pro-metric almost immediately. (You don't have to worry though - I believe that the test will be a piece of cake for your son ;) ) The supervisor who walked in to check out what my son was doing during the test (because he was the youngest in the building on that day and the lady was curious) kind of hinted that my son did very well though she could not say anything officially (they can see the summary report of the test result on their monitor immediately and they are supposed to send it to CTY after they ensure that there were no computer glitches during the test).

[SeaConquest]

If your child qualifies in verbal and not in math, he will be approved to take classes in the "Humanities" offerings of CTY Young Students and CTY Online Program. He will have to retake SCAT in order to get into the "Math" classes.

 

You can schedule another test with pro-metric almost immediately. (You don't have to worry though - I believe that the test will be a piece of cake for your son ;) ) The supervisor who walked in to check out what my son was doing during the test (because he was the youngest in the building on that day and the lady was curious) kind of hinted that my son did very well though she could not say anything officially (they can see the summary report of the test result on their monitor immediately and they are supposed to send it to CTY after they ensure that there were no computer glitches during the test).

Thanks for this, and for the vote of confidence. I'm a bit nervous because Sacha is finally old enough to take the test, and I feel like it's put up or shut up time. It's hard when they are little because you always ask yourself, maybe he's not really gifted. Maybe, I'm just being *that mom/dad.*

 

He does amazingly well at analogies, but can be spotty on quantitative. While he grasps concepts quickly, he often has poor attention to detail. Ironically, quantitative stuff is his strongest area IMHO, but I'm not sure how he will do with the time pressure. He gets anxiety when he knows that he is being timed.

 

The jury is still out on my younger DS (age 3). People tell me that he is smart, but I just don't see the same stuff with him as I saw with older. It's something that goes beyond just being smart, YKWIM? I'm very nervous about adding him to our home school. He's an extremely kinesthetic, whole to parts learner, whereas older DS and I are very linear-sequential.

[Arcadia]

I'm a bit nervous because Sacha is finally old enough to take the test, and I feel like it's put up or shut up time.

My younger who was not accelerated and a slow reader met the SCAT cutoffs as a just turned 7 years old. He didn't even finished the verbal. Results are fast.

[mathnerd]

but I'm not sure how he will do with the time pressure. He gets anxiety when he knows that he is being timed.

 

If you haven't already, then don't let him know that it is a timed test. My son who has huge anxiety and meltdowns if he is timed finished the test and had plenty of time to spare. So, he took a quiz-type customer survey questionnaire that was optional - he just wanted to work on the computer a little while longer before leaving. They do allow a timed break between the 2 sections - you can tell him that he can step out to use the restroom, eat a snack or stretch his legs a bit before taking the 2nd half of the test.

[SeaConquest]

Test was this morning. I am not optimistic. He finished the verbal in 10 minutes and came out of the math saying thay he didn't know what all the slashes were.

 

Me: You mean like greater than, less than?

S: No.

Me: You mean like does not equal?

S: No, like x/y.

Me: You mean a fraction?

S: Ooooh, is that what that was. I thought fractions were like

 

X

-

Y

 

Me: <Bangs head on desk.>

 

And this is from the kid who says to the test administrator, "I hope it has exponents. I like exponents."

 

/HomeschoolMomFail

Edited November 19, 2016 by SeaConquest

[quark]

S: Ooooh, is that what that was. I thought fractions were like

 

X

-

Y

 

Me: <Bangs head on desk.>

 

 

That sounds like mine at that age (seriously, your son's confusion makes sense!). :laugh:

 

FWIW, mine finished everything on the Grade 2 SCAT in about 15-20 minutes (IIRC, I know I did not have to wait very long) and we were pleasantly surprised by the results. He went in cold, no prep or anything like that. He did have to learn to use a mouse (properly clicking the correct side due to fine motor issues) vs touchpad variety.

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by quark

[mathnerd]

Test was this morning. I am not optimistic. He finished the verbal in 10 minutes and came out of the math saying thay he didn't know what all the slashes were.

 

Me: You mean like greater than, less than?

S: No.

Me: You mean like does not equal?

S: No, like x/y.

Me: You mean a fraction?

S: Ooooh, is that what that was. I thought fractions were like

 

X

-

Y

 

Me: <Bangs head on desk.>

 

And this is from the kid who says to the test administrator, "I hope it has exponents. I like exponents."

 

/HomeschoolMomFail

Just wait for the results. You might be pleasantly surprised!

 

[SeaConquest]

Just wait for the results. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Just got the test results this morning. Somehow he managed to qualify for the quantitative, even with the fraction fiasco, but barely missed the verbal cutoff. Oy vey. No idea how that happened. He finished the verbal in 10 minutes, so I suppose it's not surprising. But, he's normally really good at analogies.

 

We will retest in the spring semester to see if we can get a more accurate verbal and quant score now that he has more familiarity with the test.

 

Some other questions.. Now that the Explore test is gone, what are people using to qualify the early elementary crowd for DYS? Do they take the Aspire above level? The DYS website still seems to only list Explore scores.

 

Also, do people generally try to qualify for more than one program -- like CTY plus Duke TIP, etc. Just trying to figure out what opportunities are available for camps and online classes, as he really likes both.

Edited November 21, 2016 by SeaConquest

[Dmmetler]

I'm guessing the PSAT 8/9.

[luuknam]

Also, do people generally try to qualify for more than one program -- like CTY plus Duke TIP, etc. Just trying to figure out what opportunities are available for camps and online classes, as he really likes both.

 

Congrats on passing the quantitative. Wrt TIP, etc, I didn't bother having my oldest take whatever test they want. That said, I can't afford the online group classes anyway, and Duke TIP's (some? all?) online programs are available to anyone for much cheaper without an instructor and a group, and that way you don't need to have qualifying scores (I contemplated having oldest do the epidemiology one, but I might wait until next year - it's for grades 5+ anyway - iirc, all their stuff is grades 4+). Camps also are a moot point so far - he isn't old enough to go to an overnight camp with either CTY or TIP, iirc. Of course, if you're doing the RV thing and you were planning on staying near a day camp then that might be something you could look into - I haven't really looked into those because of distance.

Edited November 23, 2016 by luuknam

[Dmmetler]

The only one that I have found that is picky is TIPS. They really, really want scores sent directly to them to do Talent Search programs, so ideally you should register with them so the scores can be sent in the initial set of freebies (this is for the ACT/SAT/EXPLORE. I assume the same applies to the SAT 8/9). Or just register to test through them, and then have the scores sent to CTY. CTY is similar in that regard, but will accept a copy of the student report (not sure on SET). NUMATS doesn't require registering with talent search at all unless your DC wants another award. just send them a copy of the student test report and enroll in whatever programs you want. Belin Blank is extremely easy to work with, and is the best at answering questions. Their interpretation reports are also the most useful, IMO-but their programs are live, so only helpful if you can easily go to Iowa City.

 

EPGY we've never bothered to send scores to because I could just have DD do their stuff separately.

 

Davidson is fine with informal reports, both for DYS and for DA/DAO.

[Arcadia]

Also, do people generally try to qualify for more than one program -- like CTY plus Duke TIP, etc. Just trying to figure out what opportunities are available for camps and online classes, as he really likes both.

The only one that I have found that is picky is TIPS. They really, really want scores sent directly to them to do Talent Search programs, so ideally you should register with them so the scores can be sent in the initial set of freebies

Duke TIP didn't need any proof for their 4th-6th grade program. For Duke TIP 7th grade and up program, I just emailed photos of my DS11's ACT and SAT score reports that he took as a 6th grader. I just took a photo using my phone and emailed. I received an email confirmation within an hour that they accepted his results. Duke TIP won't accept his ACT and SAT results before he is in 7th grade though. My DS10 ACT scores taken in 5th grade also qualify for Duke TIP 7th grade cutoff but I'll just email them to update next August.

 

ETA:

Older qualified for Duke TIP in 4th grade with his 2nd grade California STAR test scores. Younger qualified with his 2nd grade Stanford 10 scores. They never ask for proof.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Arcadia