abbeyej Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 All of the Amazon reviews are scaring me away... :) Ds has had the appropriate coursework for each of these, but he's young, so I think he would really benefit from some specific test prep work. So what can you recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 All of the Amazon reviews are scaring me away... :) Ds has had the appropriate coursework for each of these, but he's young, so I think he would really benefit from some specific test prep work. So what can you recommend? For the Latin SAT II, my dd was happy with the REA guide. When my ds took it, we couldn't find any guides, so he took it cold. For Physics, my kids used Barrons (it was OK) and REA (ick - full of errors). They took Math 2 instead of Math 1, & used a College Board book of released SAT II math exams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ks-sunflower Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I had my ds take the SAT Math 1 exam to "practice" taking a SAT math test since he's not familiar with standardized tests. To study for the SAT Math 1, my ds went through the Princeton Review Math 1 & 2 book but he only did the material for Math 1. I think he might have also used some of the practice tests in Barron's. He did well on the exam. In his regular home school math class, we are half way through Precalc using Lial's textbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommamagistra Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 For Latin I would recommend a book you can pick up from Amazon called "Excelability in Advanced Latin," by Colakis. It is good practice for the sight translating passages on the SAT 2. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 For physics my son used the following: 1. The free online resources at Sparknotes 2. Barron's prep book for physics. He felt that Barron's questions were more difficult than the actual test. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Back when ds did Physics, Princeton Review and Spark Notes had the best reviews, so we purchased those. Ds didn't use them extensively as we were short on time (and he aced a practice test so we didn't worry too much), but he did use them to review concepts. He went on to ace the test. Both ds and dd did the Math 2--they used Kaplan and Princeton Review (again the 2 books with the best reviews at the time.) Both did well on the Math 2. No real experience with the Latin. We have the REA study guide and both dc looked through it--but in the end, neither felt they would do well on the Latin SAT II so they didn't take it. It's my understanding that the Latin SAT II is one of the hardest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 My daughter took the SAT subject test in Latin after having taken out of the home Latin classes through AP Latin. (She used Cambridge Latin I through IV before her AP Latin class.) She scored around 740 as I recall. When I asked my daughter what she found most helpful as regards this test, she said taking the sample test in the Official Study Guide for all SAT Subject Tests was quite helpful in showing her what was expected. If your child were to do that, I think that would give you a good idea of how prepared your child currently is. My daughter's Latin instructor recommended Excelability in Advanced Latin by Marianthe Colakis. My daughter also spent some time with the REA SAT Subject Test in Latin book. Be aware that the SAT subject test in Latin is only offered twice a year. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 For US History and Chemistry, we thought that Princeton Review was the best. Barron's was far more difficult than the actual exam, which was very discouraging when working through practice tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 For the Latin SAT II, my dd was happy with the REA guide. When my ds took it, we couldn't find any guides, so he took it cold. How much Latin had your kids had prior to the exam? I keep hearing about what a tough exam it is -- perhaps for more so than the description at the College Board site? I had not planned for ds to take any of these exams so early, but now that some of our school decisions are a bit up in the air, I'm considering some exams earlier than I had otherwise thought. He took a Latin 3 course last year and will be doing Latin prose this year. I'm wondering if (with a little test prep) that's going to be adequate to score well -- or if we're pushing it? (That's the same reason I'm looking at the Math 1 exam -- just because we're looking to test a year or so earlier than I had originally planned...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) How much Latin had your kids had prior to the exam? I keep hearing about what a tough exam it is -- perhaps for more so than the description at the College Board site? I had not planned for ds to take any of these exams so early, but now that some of our school decisions are a bit up in the air, I'm considering some exams earlier than I had otherwise thought. He took a Latin 3 course last year and will be doing Latin prose this year. I'm wondering if (with a little test prep) that's going to be adequate to score well -- or if we're pushing it? (That's the same reason I'm looking at the Math 1 exam -- just because we're looking to test a year or so earlier than I had originally planned...) Technically, you only need Latin 3 for the Latin Sat II exam: all of latin grammar, experience in sight reading, and a good vocabulary. That said, my kids took the exam in grades 11/12, when they were further along. You're right in that it's not an easy exam. The released exam I have on my shelf contains five sections (38 questions) on grammar and usage in addition to four sight reading passages with 32 more questions. All to be done in one hour! My son took this exam in grade 12 when he was in his second year of AP Latin (back when there were two versions of the course). He scored 800 without specific prep, but he was fantastic with grammar & has a terrific memory for detail and vocabulary. My daughter took it in grade 11, also in her second year of AP Latin. She prepped with the REA guide. We also used the Excelability book mentioned in the thread as part of her regular Latin studies in high school. She scored a 730. I think that she mentioned that one of the reading passages was tough for her that day. She'd been scoring higher on practice tests & was a bit disappointed in her score. Later that year, she earned a gold medal on the NLE level six exam, for comparison. Her memory isn't as good as her brother's (she's a typical VSL learner), and she used Henle in her earlier studies, which is weaker on vocabulary than Artes Latinae, which her brother had used. Her thoughts at the time were that she almost wished she'd taken the SAT II Latin a year earlier, when the nuances of Latin grammar were fresher in her mind. It does test lots of the pickier details! A couple of last thoughts: When she got to Stanford, she found that placement in Latin courses was based solely on SAT II results (if you hadn't already taken it, they administered a released exam during orientation week). They did not even look at AP Latin scores (nor NLE results) for placement. Her score was good for placement into the advanced Latin track. Working through old NLE exams (levels 3/4 and 5/6) would also be a great way to prepare for this exam. We have a book with many years' worth of old NLEs, and recent versions are available free on their website. And I'd definitely have your son go through several full length practice exams before you make your final decision. The college board's big book of SAT II tests has one, and the REA guide had a couple more. Edited July 17, 2012 by Kathy in Richmond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 How much Latin had your kids had prior to the exam? My daughter took the SAT subject test in Latin at the end of her AP Latin year; that was her fourth year of study. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 When she got to Stanford, she found that placement in Latin courses was based solely on SAT II results (if you hadn't already taken it, they administered a released exam during orientation week). They did not even look at AP Latin scores (nor NLE results) for placement. Her score was good for placement into the advanced Latin track. The community colleges take AP exams, but the 4-year we're targetting for after the community college only takes SAT II's, but they count foreign language requirment as completed if you get 670 or better. So I'm figuring AP Latin in 11th grade and then another advanced class for 12th followed by the SAT II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ks-sunflower Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Thanks, Kathy, Mommamagistra, and Kareni, for taking the time to share such helpful information about your dd's and ds's experiences with the Latin SAT 2 exam as well as with the NLE and AP exams. My ds enjoys his Latin studies a lot but I wasn't sure whether or not to have him try an AP or SAT 2 Latin exam. However, based on all your feedback, I think he will do the NLE next year and the SAT 2 his senior year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 My ds enjoys his Latin studies a lot but I wasn't sure whether or not to have him try an AP or SAT 2 Latin exam. However, based on all your feedback, I think he will do the NLE next year and the SAT 2 his senior year. Just be aware that the Latin SAT subject test is offered only twice per year; I seem to recall that the test dates were in June and December. If he wishes to have a score available for admission purposes, he may need to take the test at the end of his junior year. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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