Jan 26 SAT scores are avbl today (and a transcript question)

[Sunshine State Sue]

Ds took the SAT 2 for Math 1 and Biology. What kind of scores would you report on your transcript? Specifically what % would you report or not report?

 

SAT Subject Test Percentile Ranks 2012

 

Here is more if anyone is interested:

SAT Data Tables

[nancy in nj]

I'd definitely report anything over 700 and maybe over 650 (depending how selective your college choices are) regardless of the percentile. I think someone asked that at Emory while we were there and they said 650+ won't hurt. It's crazy how wild the percentages are on the SAT II's! My daughter had a 790 in Math II and she was in the 87 percentile. I've heard to be competitive for the Ivy's you really need over 750's and for selective colleges over 700's (maybe top 30 schools). Most colleges realize that only a very select group of kids take these tests--those applying to top schools, engineering kids taking the math etc.

 

Nancy

[Beth S]

We did not put SAT2 scores on ds' transcript. We sent the score report to the college that required it.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Thanks, Nancy. Nice to know what Emory says since they were the first school that I was aware of that required SAT 2 for homeschoolers. It was a bit of a shock since ds has been in the 90s % for PSAT and ACT. This is supposed to test high school level knowledge, right? It makes no sense to me that you can score an 800 on the Math 2 and that's the 85th percentile. What does the upper 15% score? I must not be understanding it.

[Jen in NY]

The percentages are so different from the SAT because there are self-selecting groups taking the tests. Only the kids interested in a STEM field and confident about their math skills will take the SAT II Math II Exam, so the "competition" is stiffer.

 

I think the colleges probably understand ..... the most shocking stat for me is the Mandarin... I think you can get an 800 and be in the 67th% or something.......

 

Wild, huh?

[Nscribe]

TY for posting the links, it is always helpful to have these sorts of snapshots and so forth. It adds to the wealth of info these boards tend to be.

 

So many hoops, so little time.

[regentrude]

It makes no sense to me that you can score an 800 on the Math 2 and that's the 85th percentile. What does the upper 15% score? I must not be understanding it.

 

 

This means is that a person with a perfect score is better than 85% of all students, i.e. 85% of all students who take the test score below an 800. The top 15% of students all have an 800.

Since there is no higher score than a perfect, there is no differentiation among those top 15%.

 

In contrast, as test where a perfect is in the 99th percentile (like Math I) means that a student who scores a perfect is better than 99% of students, in the top 1 %. In other words, this is a harder curve - the curve on Math II is much more forgiving.

 

So a low value of percentile for a perfect means that it is easier to get a full score.

[regentrude]

. the most shocking stat for me is the Mandarin... I think you can get an 800 and be in the 67th% or something.......

 

 

All it means is the test is comparatively "easy", so that a person only has to be better than 67% of all students in order to achieve a full score. Or in other words, the top 33% of all students who take the test receive a full score

 

(Of course there is nothing 'easy" about Mandarin; it is skewed since most test takes are native speakers).

[Sunshine State Sue]

Thanks, regentrude. Now I understand. :thumbup1: