PSAT/SAT ?

[BakersDozen]

OK, seasoned parents, help me understand something here. If my dd scored in the 98-99% on the PSAT for Reading/Writing, wouldn't it figure that she would score well on the SAT?

 

I'm trying to sort this out in my mind...what went wrong? We practiced, she did all the things one is "supposed" to do. We did the SAT ? of the Day, practice tests and review, yet her score was SO much lower than I ever expected it to be, on the Critical Reading especially.

 

Now I'm thinking about my next two who will take the SAT next year and freaking out! What mistakes did I make that I need to not make again??

 

Do I have her retest? I scored about what she did and went on to have a full ride at a state university which is more than she desires to do. Do I call it quits and be done with her testing?

 

I know she tried hard and really did her best as that is just the kind of kid she is. But to go from such a great percentile ranking to what she scored...I just can't make sense of it. Part of me says to retest, another part says forget it and move on. I never expected a score above 2000 but seriously, this is ridiculous. And no, I'm not posting her score because I already know I am in the company of some whiz kids and don't need to feel any worse about how she did. :(

 

Of all the local homeschooling families I know, we are the only ones who have our dc take these tests. Everyone else graduates their dc and they go straight to CC - no tests (aside from the Compass which dd ACED - 99% across the board), no stress. Maybe I need to rethink this testing thing for my next two and just not do it.

 

WWYD?

[StephanieZ]

Well, since she scored in the 98-99% on her PSAT, I would indeed expect similar scores on the SAT. She might have just had an off day for the SAT. Maybe nerves got to her or maybe she made some ridiculous error putting the answers in the wrong boxes. My dd did that on one of her practice test sections!!

 

If she's doing good practice tests and her "real" test came in more than 20-30 pts lower per section (say 100 pts total), I'd definitely guess that she just had a very bad test day. I'd sign her up for a retest ASAP without a whole lot of extra pressure. If this redo comes in low again, then maybe consider a test prep course or a tutor or something -- as maybe there is some weak spot or technique thing that an outside person can pick up on that you are missing.

 

I think that since she scored so high on the PSAT, she can/should try to get a comparable SAT/ACT score so that she can maximize her chances for merit aid no matter where she goes.

 

(((hugs)))

 

Just retest! She'll get it!

[regentrude]

You probably did nothing wrong. If she is such a strong student that she scored high on the PSAT, but very low on the SAT critical reading, it is entirely possible that she had a bad day. On average, the PSAT is a pretty good indicator of the SAT, and PSAT*10 is roughly the expected SAT score. So, if her scores deviated significantly from this estimate, I would definitely give her the chance to retest (I assume this is the case, since you use words like "ridiculous".)

 

As a general comment: don't you ever feel bad because there might be parents reading whose children are high scorers. I have never gotten the sentiment here that people try to make others feel bad!

[BakersDozen]

As a general comment: don't you ever feel bad because there might be parents reading whose children are high scorers. I have never gotten the sentiment here that people try to make others feel bad!

No...no...I've not read anything from anyone here like that. What I meant is that I'm in the presence of parents who have seriously smart/intelligent kids - the kind of kids I went to high school with. I can't share specific scores because of my own feelings, not because anyone would ever say anything.

 

I take testing personally - too personally. I wanted for my dc what I didn't have. My parents not only didn't work with me, they didn't even know about tests like the SAT! I only signed up because friends were, I never studied, I showed up and took it cold turkey. Because of the time/effort I've spent with dd I expected so much better from her...so much better. I'm just shocked at how she did.

 

After the test she told me how two girls sitting by her didn't study or prepare at all. I was confident in how dd would do and never saw this score coming.

 

I'll wait and see what the actual breakdown of results is and go over things with dd, then definitely have her retest.

[Jen in NY]

As a general comment: don't you ever feel bad because there might be parents reading whose children are high scorers. I have never gotten the sentiment here that people try to make others feel bad!

 

 

ITA - We are all rowing this boat in one direction.... supporting each other : )

 

 

A thought:

One thing that has happened several times on various tests here at our house is a skipped question.

 

So, dc will be moving along at a good clip... everything's fine, and then a question gets skipped and answer for question 21 goes in the blank for 20.... and dc doesn't realize it until many questions have gone by!! Ack!!!

 

Is there any chance at all that your dd remembers an extra blank at the end of the CR Section? (It will be obvious when the detailed score reports are posted and at a certain point you see wrong answers begin.)

 

I have had to mention this a few times with my kids... check every single time you are filling in a question.... and if you need to skip a question circle the question number on the answer key and fill in a choice lightly --- that way there's a placeholder and everything stays in the right place. It has happened enough here that it is worth taking the chance that dd will lose a quarter point for a wrong guess if she doesn't have time to go back and erase the placeholder.

 

:grouphug:

[Candid]

The SAT is much more grueling in terms of time than the PSAT. I'd certainly have practice more and retest. Jen has an excellent thought, but there is no way you know that, so retesting with some time, if possible, low pressure on the day of the test and leading to it.

[Jen in NY]

The SAT is much more grueling in terms of time than the PSAT. I'd certainly have practice more and retest. Jen has an excellent thought, but there is no way you know that, so retesting with some time, if possible, low pressure on the day of the test and leading to it.

 

I would definitely let her retest if you both want her to, especially if she she takes a couple of CR practice tests and scores as you expected her to originally. Many schools superscore the test, too... so if you are happy with her math and writing scores as they stand now she doesn't need to spend too much time worrying about them.

 

There will be a way for you to know immediately if she skipped a question on the June 1 test, if on the 25th you look at the detailed score report and see that answers leading up to her last answered question are wrong and her answers are shifted one from the correct answers.

[creekland]

If she did seriously worse on all sections, I'd chalk it up to nerves. If it was only one section, I'd look at the report on June 25th and see if she did mismark one section.

 

Whether or not you retest will totally be up to her goals. If she scored high on the PSAT (as suggested), I'd lean in favor of retesting.

 

My guy just got his scores back from a retest... he went DOWN 60 points in the section I wanted him to improve upon (CR). He did go up 70 points in writing, but so few schools count that that I've ended up rather bummed. Math stayed the same. Superscoring will help his overall scores go up by those 70 points, but...

 

One reason he went down in CR is he missed doing the final 3 questions on one of the section (didn't see them until too late). I doubt that made the difference of 60 points though. Sometimes it's just a matter of whether they "get it" on that testing day or not,

 

We won't be retesting in the fall. I'm sure my guy will get in to college he likes with his scores. I was merely having him retest because he was close to the next merit aid category at one of his schools (but it only goes off CR/M). I have no idea if he will get enough $$ to be able to afford any of his schools or not. Only time will tell. If not, perhaps working for a year will inspire him to put effort into the tests. (He put very little into this last test and I doubt it would be any different if he retested in the fall - as far as his peers are concerned, he has SUPER scores, but the bar is low at our school.)

 

FWIW, I have one really high stat son, one semi-high stat son, and this guy who ranks above average in percentiles, but not as high as he could and nowhere near the stats of many on here. I love them all. ;) I recognize that better $$ tends to come with better scores, but the "worth" of a person is not at all related.

 

I'll cheer for those with high scores the same way I would for those with winning sports plays, great musical performances, mock trial, or whatever. I'm not offended when people share their brags. I'd have been thrilled if my guy had pulled each of his scores up by 20 points or so rather than being so one-sided with the test that doesn't count... but... such is life sometimes. He's still my guy and I'll be rooting for him to get enough financial aid to be able to go to one of his top choice schools after next year. I'll be rooting for your kids too (no matter which route you opt to go). I root for all the Hive kids. I kind of feel we're all family.

[Myra]

Creekland - you wrote "was merely having him retest because he was close to the next merit aid category at one of his schools (but it only goes off CR/M)"

 

Could you tell me how you locate that information for each college about the merit aid cutoffs? I never knew that info was available! It'll make the difference whether I have my son take the SAT again in the Fall!

 

Thanks,

Myra

[Barbara H]

Did she take full length,paper and pencil practice tests from the College Board? If so and this score was significantly lower, I would think about a retake because she may have just had an off day. The next test date is in October.

[creekland]

Creekland - you wrote "was merely having him retest because he was close to the next merit aid category at one of his schools (but it only goes off CR/M)"

 

Could you tell me how you locate that information for each college about the merit aid cutoffs? I never knew that info was available! It'll make the difference whether I have my son take the SAT again in the Fall!

 

Thanks,

Myra

 

These were from the Net Price Calculators at each school doing merit aid. I plugged in his scores first (they only wanted CR/M) and then adjusted them by 10 points until I saw where the next cutoff was. He needed 40 points at one school, but they had to be 40 points UP not down. The difference was $2000. I thought that was worth a $50 gamble.

 

Some schools list merit aid scores needed on their websites, but for two of his it was from the NPC.

[WTMCassandra]

I have tutored quite a few students in SAT language sections. I would say that it is impossible to know unless you get the most detailed score report possible and look for trends in missed questions. Failing that, try a couple of practice tests (perhaps only the critical reading sections) at home from the Official Blue Book, and score those at home and look for trends. It is also worth examining whether she got "off" in her bubbling somehow.

 

But in general, analysis of missed questions is the most reliable way to diagnose problems and/or raise your score the next time. I strongly recommend not wasting her time retesting until you can determine more fully what happened this time.

[Luckymama]

OP :grouphug:

 

Dd18 had a really cruddy, way-not-expected, SAT last spring. She was so demoralized-----and I was worried about merit scholarships (though I only shared my worries with dh). I think she had some text anxiety and some fatigue during the test as she was worried the previous day and then she was sock the following week. She retook in October and scored above what we had anticipated. The merit money followed (you can view that in the acceptance thread on the college board). It will be ok.

[AngieW in Texas]

I always signed my girls up for the test dates that had the question&answer service available. You have to pay extra for it, but you get a copy of the actual test booklet along with the answer your child gave for each question and the correct answer for each question. Then you can actually see what happened on the test.

[WTMCassandra]

That is really the gold standard, AngieW! I plan to do this also when my DD starts taking the SAT next year.

[Musicmom]

(((hugs))) to the OP. Don't feel bad--this can happen to anyone! It could have just been a bad day, or there could have been some issue with test itself that caused the problem--the CR on the SAT is rather different than the PSAT, and that can throw some students for a loop.

 

My dd also had major trouble with the CR section on the SAT. She did well on the PSAT CR, so we thought she'd be fine (after all, that's the way it had worked for ds, no problem.) But she went down 60 points (!) on the SAT two months later, despite prepping specifically for the SAT and using some practice tests in the Official blue book. Her practice tests had even been good--around her PSAT score, so we were quite surprised at the drop, and she was very upset.

 

We had her retest a few months later, after again working intensively through the Official practice tests, analyzing missed questions and looking for trends--just as WTMCassandra recommends above. It helped.

 

There were certain types of questions on the readings that she tended to miss, and she learned how to better deal with those. We also found two other trends. One was that the vocabulary questions were a problem. Dd has a very good vocabulary, has studied vocab using SAT lists, and she knew most of the words... but invariably there would be one or two words in each vocabulary section that she didn't really know well and that was enough to trip her up. The other problem was that she likes to guess if she can eliminate some of the answer choices. Statistically, this is supposed to be to one's advantage, but... dd is a terrible guesser. Seriously, she can get questions down to 2 possible answers and then pick the wrong one EVERY time! So, these missed questions were really working against her. When she went to retest, I practically ordered her to NOT guess on more than 2 questions across ALL of the CR, but to leave anything she wasn't sure about blank (so she wouldn't lose points!) Thankfully she complied! :) She did do much better the 2nd time--10 points above her PSAT, which was a relief to both of us.

 

So I would encourage you to see if you can find out why the score might have gone down, and put a strategy in place to deal with any problems you find. Then have your dd retest. I would also have her do the ACT--for some people (my dd included, at least for the reading section), the ACT goes better. Most colleges today will accept either test, so you could use the one that goes better for your dd.

[Laura in CA]

Creekland - you wrote "was merely having him retest because he was close to the next merit aid category at one of his schools (but it only goes off CR/M)"

 

Could you tell me how you locate that information for each college about the merit aid cutoffs? I never knew that info was available! It'll make the difference whether I have my son take the SAT again in the Fall!

 

 

 

If you go to a college's website and look under "prospective students," "freshman admissions," etc., and then under "financial aid," "costs," "scholarships," etc. they often have charts or calculators. This chart was incredibly motivating for my son .... there's nothing like seeing in black and white (or color, in this case) how test scores and GPA ---> $$$ .... suddenly it wasn't just Mom saying "Study hard! Get good grades! Do well on the ACT!" On his own initiative (and to my amazement), he took the ACT three times, and was able to raise his score enough to qualify for a 2-year full-tuition scholarship. (One more lousy point on the ACT -- and come on, how hard could that be?? haha -- and he would have had a 4-year, but I'm NOT complaining!!!)

 

The chart is found on this page of the Utah State website. Another school we looked at, George Fox, had a nice chart on their financial aid page that also spelled out what the "tuition discount" (although they didn't call it that) would be for various ACT scores -- e.g., an ACT score of 28 was something like $8k scholarship guaranteed, 30 was $10k, and 32 was $12k ... I see they don't have such automatic scholarships listed anymore, but there's a calculator here where you input your GPA & test scores.