SAT scores...I might take up drinking

[BakersDozen]

After a 2-month test prep course (which we all loved) CR went up 110 points (although dd scored so low her first SAT that she had nowhere else to go but up despite her blowing that one out of the water on the PSAT), Writing went up 40 points (again, she scored really low compared to her PSAT), but math went DOWN by 10 points!!!  WTH?!?!

 

I hate testing.  I don't know that I will have the rest of my dc test if they are planning on attending CC.  This is just so frustrating and, imo, a waste of our time and money.  How in the heck did her math score go DOWN?!  She did so well on her practice tests, loved Dana Mosley's SAT DVD series and got a lot out of it...and her score went down.  

 

I hate testing.  I like the Compass Test as it is not timed so that stress factor is eliminated.  I hate these standardized timed tests with a passion.

---

 

Rational thinking kicked back in and I realized that dd did just fine on the sections we expected her to.  Math isn't her thing.  She won't need it at all after she finishes the required College Algebra so who cares what her score did?  She scored way better than I did on the SAT math section and I did great in college - full scholarships the entire way.  The SAT shouldn't be a big deal, just a general idea of how she's doing and that's it.  

 

Thank God she's not applying for a high-tier university.  I couldn't handle the stress.  :)  

 

Lol, the scores for high schools across the nation came in recently and of course my high school ranked very well.  As always, that experience and the intense focus on test scores, GPA and who's going to Harvard/Yale continues to haunt me.  Seriously, lunch conversation centered on who would have a higher GPA by all of .01 and therefore by the Valedictorian.  Like a 4.48 was really worse than a 4.49.  I really need to break away from that mindset and unrealistic/frustrating high expectation level.   

 

 

 

[Mommyfaithe]

Take it from me.  It is OK.  My kids have had bad SAT experiences,  yet my older ones had NO PROBLEM in college...one graduated with a 3.8,  the other 3.9.  They did not have cushy majors either.  One does have a science degree (she is now a registered dietician!)  The SAT does NOT measure a child's ability to succeed in college nor determine their worth nor reflect the education they received.  Some kids test well,  others test well in class subjects,  others do not test well at all.  The SAT measures how well you take the  SAT.   (FWIW,  I never took the SAT either and I still did very well in college.)

 

Faithe

[Sisyphus]

My poor Ds is a bad/anxious test taker, and I will be honest, I am thisclose to just saying screw it, go to CC, it's hardly the end of the world. No more ap/sat stress, I can get my creative, intelligent, all around good boy back and he could actually enjoy the next few years rather than be stressed all the time. Maybe work a little (right now, he would never have time with this work load for schoolwork), discover a passion. No, we won't impress the neighbors, but...really, I am so close to saying just STOP all this crazy!

 

(we live in a ridiculously high pressure area- preschools advertise they will set the path for kids to get accepted to the math science high school)

[Pawz4me]

Keep in mind that most schools super score SAT results.  So instead of worrying about the 10 point drop in math, think about the 150 point net gain in CR and writing. ;)

[BakersDozen]

 

 

The SAT measures how well you take the  SAT.

I have just printed this out in bright red lettering and taped it to my test prep folder.  Thank you!

 

What frustrates me is that my dc can test so well during their regular school year yet when it comes to something like the SAT, their scores are rather dismal (although not as bad as mine were!).  I know what they are capable of academically so seeing that not reflected in test scores is frustrating.  I have to remember to not put so much value on a timed, standardized test rather what I see them doing all year long.

 

The pressure...so much pressure of expectations and to perform well.  I hate it. Which is why I feel this next "batch" of dc we will drop the testing, drop the pressure, and enjoy other things more.  

[8filltheheart]

I wouldn't stress about it so much.   My older kids only took the test once or twice, depending.   They didn't score super high but high enough for MOST universities.   Seriously, only really competitive schools have super high test score requirements.   My dd, a horrible test taker, was offered more than 50% scholarship at a LAC with her mostly avg test scores.  Both of them are actually strong students with high GPAs.

 

I agree that the tests are not a 1-to-1 indicator.    My ds, for whom test scores have mattered b/c he is applying to really competitive schools, did far better on the SAT than the ACT.   With the ACT b/c there is so much reading in a row and all math in one section, his scores were all over the place.   He math score stayed consistently high, but his English and reading scores could flucuate 10 pts between testing sessions.   (10 pts on the ACT is a huge difference)   The swing simply indicates how much reading fatigue impacted his scores vs. anything to do with ability.   Since the SAT alternates between reading and math sections, we found that his scores were much higher on it b/c reading fatigue due to dyslexia didn't set in.   Other kids test better on the ACT.....so you might want to try it.  

 

I definitely would not assume non-university admission based on one child's testing experience.   Also, remember that the scores and experiences of a lot of the students on this forum are not typical.   Even  many  CC-tech programs require minimum scores, though.   So you do need to keep that in mind.   My dd's OTA program only admitted 35 students and they had somewhere between 150-200 students apply (can't remember).   Admissions was strictly a numbers game and based on high school GPA, 30 hours of pre-req GPA, and ACT scores.   (I don't remember what the minimum score was, but it was over 21.....I am thinking it was 23-24.)

[Sunshine State Sue]

I agree about the advice about taking the ACT. Most kids do far better on one than the other. The SAT tends to be more tricky and the ACT more straight forward.

 

Ds took the PSAT, but he's never taken the SAT.  We prefer straight forward, so he's taken the ACT.

 

[Brenda in MA]

Ds took the PSAT, but he's never taken the SAT.  We prefer straight forward, so he's taken the ACT.

This is what my oldest did. His PSAT score and practice ACT scores indicated that the ACT was his "better" test, so that is where he focused his study. He never took the SAT.

 

My younger one is very different than his brother. For him, the SAT proved to be the better test, so he never took the ACT.

 

I know that some people suggest having a student take both, but I find that to be expensive and time-consuming. You can get prep books out of the library for free and give your dc sample tests to find out where their strengths lie.

 

JM2Cents,

Brenda

[ThisIsTheDay]

My dd also scored much higher on the ACT. I'd heard for years that was a possibility, but I really didn't believe it until it happened to her.

[regentrude]

On the topic of choosing which test it is worth noting that some colleges require a certain number of SAT 2 subject tests,  but waive this requirement if the student took the ACT with writing. So, the ACT may be preferable from this angle as well.

[Kareni]

I know that some people suggest having a student take both, but I find that to be expensive and time-consuming. You can get prep books out of the library for free and give your dc sample tests to find out where their strengths lie.

 

 

Yes, I had my daughter do this.  In her case, she fared better on the SAT so that is the test she ultimately took.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[creekland]

Definitely don't base what your other kids do/don't on an experience from one student.  Students are different - even students within the same family and using the same texts.  You could easily find one is not as good as testing as another.  One may prefer cc and do well there.  Another may prefer a 4 year school and do well (gaining merit aid to get there).  Another may want an 18 month or 2 year trade program.

 

It's not fair at all to look at the younger kids and say, "Well, oldest had issues (or strengths) here, so the rest of you need to follow 'this' path."

 

I've seen tons of siblings in my 14 years of teaching at our public high school.  Seldom do they follow the same path and have the same strengths/weaknesses.

 

My own three have picked totally different colleges/majors for themselves - meaning we had to do the whole college search - from the beginning - 3 different times.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

As others have said, the SAT/ACT are limited in their predicting power.  USUALLY higher scores correlate with better potential (it's rare that scores surprise me), but they do not predict college success as work ethic is not measured and some students do far better without quick timing.  Then too, there are some subjects that just aren't tested and/or don't matter with regards to the test.

 

See what your other kids do and go from there.  They are themselves - not clones of older kids.  ;)

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

Don't forget that a 10-point drop in math equates to missing ONE question.  Get up high enough into the 750 range and one question can drop a score 20 points.  It's all about the bell curve.

[BlsdMama]

Consider the ACT. DD´s scores in math were abysmal imo. The ACT gave her a much better equivalency (SAT to ACT comparison) in math.

[Elisabet1]

Join my club!!!

 

My daughter did very well on the PSAT. But her SAT score was not as high. So she retook it and got lower scores in 2 of the 3 areas. the 3rd area, her score went up. We actually went for it a 3rd time, and again, score was lower in 2 areas, and higher in a 3rd area.

 

My conclusion now is to only take the SAT once, maybe twice, but never again. I hate that our current college applying students these days take the SAT multiple times. When I went to college, no one took it more than once.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

I always tell parents - one or two tests. Three if you must. After that, the score just crashes. Sad but true.

[Belacqua]

I always tell parents - one or two tests. Three if you must. After that, the score just crashes. Sad but true.

 

Why do you think that happens, Tom?

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

Why do you think that happens, Tom?

 

Couple things....

 

One is expectations vs reality.  There are kids who absolutely must get into (pick a school) or their lives are crushed, and there are parents for whom anything less than a name-brand private school is failure.  I had a mom whose son got into RPI but not MIT, and she said, "well, it's really the graduate degree that counts."  Um....yikes.  In these cases, banging a kid's head against the wall with multiple tests is more about parental ambition and expectations.

 

Two is the oddities of the score curve.  As you get up into the 700's, scores are more at the mercy of shifts the Board will put in after the test.  Missing one question might drop a score from 650 to 640, but that shouldn't radically change your choice of schools.  That same one question can drop an 800 to a 750 and figure into admissions at, say, Yale.  You can prep all you want too, but you can't predict the curve.

 

Either way, there does seem to be an upper limit, a terminal velocity for any given student.  Prepping and taking more than three tests leaves the student searching for that one little missed thing, only adding to the psychological baggage.  Doubt and second guessing will kill a great score, and prior assumptions about what that mythical great score must be feed more doubt.

 

I had one student who did a complete Kaplan course, a complete PR course, then did 12 weeks with me -- almost a year of prep.  She was fried.  I don't take students like that any more.