SAT II subject tests - scores question

[dirty ethel rackham]

I have a question about SAT II subject tests. What is considered a good score - one that demonstrates that one has learned the material well enough to justify a grade?

 

DS15 is prepping for the Chemistry subject test. He took a practice test cold and got in the 50th percentil. He will do some more review and studying (especially since he finished the course in June) but I was just wondering.

[Quiver0f10]

:lurk5:

[cathmom]

I don't know specifically, but I did hear (after my oldest took one) that anything but a great score doesn't reflect well, because most students take these in their best subjects.

[Brenda in MA]

for several of the subject tests from the College Board website.

 

http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SAT_subject_tests_percentile_ranks.pdf

 

As far as a "good" score, that's hard to say. Only a small subset of the college bound students take the subject tests any way, so if your child scores 50%ile, that means he's average within the high-achieving group that took this test, not average for all college-bound students.

 

One thing that I don't really understand about the subject tests is why the scores vs. percentiles vary so much from test to test. For example, a 700 on the math level 1 is 81%ile, but a 700 on the math level 2 is only a 66%ile.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[Gwen in VA]

What is a "good" score --

 

1) it depends on the school you are applying to. For example, MIT would expect 800's or close to it in the math tests, but Middlebury might be impressed with low 700's if you did well on the lit one.

 

2) It depends what other SAT2's you took. If you only take one or two, the tests should be in your strengths, so you should have scored well. If you took five, some of those tests will be in your area of strength but some won't, so your score range will probably be greater.

 

3) It depends on the test. It is considerably easier to get a 800 on the math level 2 than on the math level 1. Most of the students who take the Chinese exam get an 800, but I am told that many of the students who take it speak Chinese in the home, so colleges still might be impressed by a person with no family background in Chinese getting a 700.

 

Ultimately, scoring well is like beauty -- a good score is in the eye of the beholder. And if anyone has great insights into the eyes of a college admissions counselor, I'd love to learn about it! :001_smile: