SAT2 Literature, World History vs. Science, Math

[ks-sunflower]

If anyone's dc has taken both types of SAT 2 tests- one or more of the humanities and one or more of the math, science - how did they compare in terms of difficulty, prep time, scoring? It seems that the scores on the science and math tests have to be in the stratosphere in order for them to mean anything to a college. In addition, it seems a common practice for students taking the AP sciences to also take the SAT2 science tests as well, making the competition really tough. Is this a problem as much with the SAT2 humanities type tests- do AP students take the SAT 2 Literature or history tests, bumping up the level of competition for a high school level SAT 2 test taker? Any thoughts?

[Brigid in NC]

In addition, it seems a common practice for students taking the AP sciences to also take the SAT2 science tests as well, making the competition really tough. Is this a problem as much with the SAT2 humanities type tests- do AP students take the SAT 2 Literature or history tests, bumping up the level of competition for a high school level SAT 2 test taker? Any thoughts?

One of the challenges in choosing the AP/SATII route to take is you often have to make testing/transcript decisions before the college choices are clear. Some schools require SATIIs (Georgia Tech requires 3) from homeschoolers, so it makes sense to double up where you can (or it did to us) and cover the AP/CC and SATII in the same year, where possible. I don't know how much more common this is in the science/math area than the humanities.

 

In our experience, my ds took AP/CC classes and then the AP exams in May -- and then prepped briefly for the corresponding SATIIs in June. That worked well for us in US History, Chemistry, Math 2 (he didn't take the Lit SAT II, because he only needed 3). Because my ds was applying to a range of schools with different requirements or expectations, it seemed like the logical approach. The junior year can be grueling -- test-wise -- so it helped us to take this approach.

 

One family's experience. I hope this helps. :)

Edited July 1, 2011 by Brigid in NC

[Gwen in VA]

I think which tests are easier to score well on depends on the kid. My kids tended to do slightly better on the math/science exams, but since both dh and I are engineers, that may not be a data point you can take seriously.

 

We haven't noticed any difference in prep time. My kids have found the lit and Latin SAT2's to be the hardest, but see above point about how we're an engineering family.

Edited July 2, 2011 by Gwen in VA